Into the Woods and Down the Dell
by MsJc1210
Summary: AU: Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived with her stepsisters. Well, half-brothers, actually. And this maiden was no maiden, but no one, not even his fairy god father, could make that distinction for some reason.
1. Cinderella Part 1

**Into the Woods and Down the Dell**

**SUMMARY:** AU: Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived with her stepsisters. Well, half-brothers, actually. And this maiden was no maiden, but no one, not even his fairy god father, could make that distinction for some reason.

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Cinderella Part 1

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a small but prosperous kingdom bearing the name of Balbadd.

Well, formerly prosperous…and formerly a kingdom. The once flourishing country was now in the dominion of the Kou Empire. Kou's subjugation was far from a difficult feat for Governor Ahbmad, who was previously the Balbadd king, had immediately stepped down from the throne and surrendered. It was easy for the citizens to label the current governor as a coward and a fool, but what could a coward and a fool do when in the face of the man with an armada of renowned military strength just upon his land's shores? There was no denying it that Prince Kouen would have Balbadd, regardless of how much of a fight they would put up.

And, honestly, it wasn't like Ahbmad was that great of a ruler. With his inability to care about his subjects and to make good financial decisions, Balbadd experienced rough patches the years under Ahbmad's rule. So what difference did it make having a dwindling economy to having their culture stripped away from them? His brother Sahbmad wasn't much better, and no one paid attention to the third sibling Alibaba who was cast aside to toil his days as a scullery servant the day after King Rashid, their father, had died.

A servant. It didn't offend Alibaba as it should with most—or any—children of royalty. He only had three years of princely treatment after being taken away from the slums, so spending the rest of his days like this wasn't so bad. But he honestly did miss eating high quality food, which Sahbmad was kind enough to occasionally sneak in some for him.

Alibaba, like his first three years in the palace, continued his life of seclusion. Whatever state that Balbadd was in as of now…he only knew from listening in the passing guards' conversations. He often thought about how Kassim and Mariam were doing. Were they alright? Were they eating well? Were they sick? There wasn't much that he could do other than to wonder. He was forbidden to leave the palace.

Then, one day, the halls became bustling with life. As Alibaba awoke from the cinders of where his beddings were, sounds of footsteps rained down on the floorboards. Curious, he approached the door and took a peek. Maids and servants were hurrying down the corridors, each carrying towering plates and bowls and silverwares. He stepped out, careful not to get in the way of the busy traffic, and made haste to the kitchens.

"Ah, Cinderella, you're up," the cook said, looking up from her pot and nodding towards the boy.

Much to his distaste, nearly everyone here had taken to calling Alibaba Cinderella due to him sleeping by the furnace. And why so discourteous towards a former prince? Well, it was hard to say how, but it seemed as though everyone, with the exception of his brothers and a few others, had forgotten about him being a prince. Now they saw him to be just like them—an ordinary and fellow worker within the palace.

"Do you know what's going on?" Alibaba asked, getting started on his daily chores. "Everyone's running around in the halls. Is there something coming up?"

"Ah, you must have just awoken. You see, there was news that the Kou princes will be arriving here the night after this night."

Alibaba froze. "Here…? That's rather abrupt."

The cook gave a grave nod. "It's going to be an important night, nevertheless. Not only will Kou be meeting on Balbadd's shores, but the king of Sindria as well."

"But why is that?" he incredulously asked.

"You should know that prior to Kou's subjugation that Sindria and Balbadd were once good trading partners," the cook said, resuming back to her stirring. "Now with Sindria's source of supply cut off, there's obviously a need of an issue to confront."

"But here in Balbadd?"

"Better to wage a war where it isn't on their own lands."

Alibaba grimaced. He was educated in the ordeals of trades and relationships between nations. There was a reason why Balbadd had strived to maintain a title of neutrality—it had been a successful trading nation, yet a small one. Balbadd wasn't suited to face war, so it kept its peace, which the countries around it respected that. That was what Alibaba knew, but it was years since he had been regularly caught up with current events.

"At least, that's what my husband tells me," the cook continued. "Ever since we've been taken over, it's been nothing but Kou this and Kou that. I can't tell which one is worse: from when he was complaining about how bad a king Governor Ahbmad was or now."

"I don't think that's something you should say, ma'am."

The cook gave a dainty snort. "Oh, what would they do? Throw me into the dungeon? How can they when I'm the only one here who can make the governors' favorite sweet cakes? You don't have to worry about me, Cinderella. Even if I speak out of turn, I'm an old woman. They'll think nothing of it other than nonsensical rambles."

"Right," he sighed.

"Anyway, aside from politics, there will be a ball in the palace before the Kou princes and the Sindrian king have their meeting."

"That's odd. Is it to lower tensions?"

"Likely to make them more susceptible to agreements. And to throw in the bone, all the pretty young ladies are permitted to attend."

"To appease King Sinbad's infamous love for women?" Alibaba said wryly and jealously.

"What else? But it certainly does sound like it would be a thrilling night. Ah, what I would give to be young again," the cook sighed wistfully. "You have a chance yourself, my dear. All you need is a bit of cleaning up and a beautiful gown."

Alibaba held in a groan. "I'm not a girl, ma'am," he said for the umpteenth time (and he wasn't sure why he bothered to keep at it). "I'm a boy."

"Have the maids been telling you that rubbish again?" she tsked. "You may be lacking a chest and shape, dear, but you're just as lovely as any one of them—if not lovelier. Those girls are just filling your head with petty lies."

That did not make him happy.

"Well, I'm not going to the ball anyway," Alibaba asserted aloud, occupying himself with washing the plates after he finished kneading the bread. "I'm not much of a fan of dancing or making diplomatic conversations."

"Now you're being utterly ridiculous. Why skip out this opportunity? You know you'll never get another chance like this."

Because he didn't like dancing or making diplomatic conversations. What other answer could he give? Oh, right, and his brother Ahbmad would burst a blood vessel if he so much saw Alibaba lingering about even on by the edge of the party.

But Alibaba didn't state his reasons. Instead, he just shrugged and continued on with his tasks.

The rest of the evening and the following morning were filled with noisy chatters and giggles. It was a given that the girls were giddy with anticipation. They never had a treat like this before, being able to _approach_ the King of the Seven Seas. He was rumored to be _very_ handsome and _very_ dashing. King Sinbad being present was also a part of the reason why Alibaba didn't want to attend the ball. To see a man being flocked by girls while no one gave him a second glance? A major blow to his ego.

And then there were the Kou princes. Every Balbaddian citizen naturally had mixed feelings about the royal members of the Far East, but that didn't lull the excitement that shone brightly in the young ladies' eyes and actions. It could be because the Kou princes were too rumored to be just as handsome.

As the sun began to set, Sahbmad came to Alibaba with anxious eyes. "I don't know what to do once the Kou princes and the Sindrian king arrive," he confessed. "Ahbmad says to not to worry, but what if a disagreement ensues that will be followed by war?"

The cook's words replayed in Alibaba's head. "If there will be war, then it'll inevitably occur in our country," Alibaba said. His brother tensed. "I don't really know what else can be done other than to hope that all things will go well."

"You must have an idea, Alibaba," Sahbmad fretted. "You are also a prince yourself. Surely, if not me nor Ahbmad, that you some insight to offer."

"Brother, you must remember that I _was_ a prince. I was forced through abdication by Ahbmad when he became governor. My studies in politics were canceled and I'm left with no standing. It's not fair if you turn the situation to my hands."

"I… You're right, Alibaba. Please forgive me," Sahbmad sighed. "It's just… I'm worried about Balbadd's future. I know that I'm no leader, but I still care about my country and its people."

Alibaba gave a sad smile. "I know, Brother, but I'm afraid that the only thing we can do now is to hope and pray."

After the two brothers parted ways, Alibaba headed to the veranda and spent his evening there. Since all energy was directed in the preparation for the ball, there wasn't much that Alibaba could do after having finished making the food with the cook. The head maid was too busy tidying up the place, so he didn't get to hear her scream her head off at him all day.

When the sky was in hues of black and the lamps that hung over the lanes lit up, Alibaba sat up from the porch and gave a stretch. It was a while since he last had a nap. From a distance, he could hear music coming from the building. The ball must have already begun. The palace should be largely empty. He decided to go to the library and filch a few books.

He stood up and turned around. His face collided into a chest.

"Wh-wha—"

Glowing eyes peered down at him. "Hello there!"

Alibaba staggered backwards, his wide eyes taking in the man clad in green before him. "Who—where—"

"It isn't polite to gape," the man reprimanded lightly. "My name is Yunan and I'm your fairy godfather."

He blinked. "Uh. Are you the gardener…?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said that I'm your fairy _godfather_."

Alibaba was half-asleep—that must be it. He couldn't form a single coherent thought when half-asleep, much less listen to anything clearly. "It's nice to meet you, Yunan. See you around," he mumbled tiredly, about to walk past the man. Or, at least, he tried to.

"Whoa, not so fast, young lady—" Yunan started, grabbing Alibaba's arm.

Alibaba's head whipped around so fast that it caused Yunan to draw his own head back. "What did you call me?"

"Uh—"

"I'm not a 'young lady'," Alibaba snapped. "I'm a _boy_! A man!"

"Wait, you're telling me that you're not a girl?"

"No!" Why did everyone think that?

Yunan's eyes narrowed. "Really?" he inquired skeptically.

"I'll just prove it to you," Alibaba huffed, his hands about to flip up his tunic, but he was immediately stopped by Yunan.

"No need to show indecency!"

"There's nothing indecent about it when I'm not a girl!"

"Well, that doesn't matter anyhow," Yunan said distractedly, making sure that Alibaba's hands wouldn't drift to the hem of his shirt. "What matters is you hearing what your first mission is."

"Mission? Who the heck are you?"

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm your fairy godfather."

Alibaba scrutinized him. "Well, you do look like a fairy."

"I'll pretend that there wasn't an underlying insult there," he cheerfully said.

"And I don't believe that you're my fairy godfather or whatever," Alibaba continued, folding his arms. "You could be just some weirdo deciding to pull a prank on a non-suspecting victim like myself."

"You're rude," Yunan tutted. "Rashid used to tell me all the time about what a sweet child you happened to be whenever I came to visit."

This man in green knew his father? Did that even matter? Alibaba decided not to comment on that. He would be just prolonging his stay here. "I'm leaving," he declared, pushing past Yunan. "Good night."

"Hold on! I can prove it to you!"

"Not interested."

"Not even when I do _this_?"

Suddenly, Alibaba's clothes billowed and expanded. He let out a squawk as his tunic stretched and fastened itself around his waist in a wrap. His face tickled, as though something was being brushed and painted onto his skin. The legs of his pants unraveled and twirled around his hips, mending together into a skirt. Even his shoes were altered, turning from rough leather shoes into slippers of golden satin that shaped around his feet.

"What?" Alibaba gasped. He spun around, trying not to think about that draft between his now bare legs. "_What_?"

"Don't you look stunning?" Yunan said with a grin. "I think you should see yourself too." He snapped his fingers, and out of thin air a mirror was procured. Alibaba would have tripped over something from that trick if he wasn't so stunned to see his reflection.

It…was a beautiful dress. And _he_ was wearing it.

"Why am I in this getup?" he cried in bewilderment. "I—am I wearing makeup? And how did my hair get so long all of a sudden?"

"Hmm, it would be better if we had your hair up," Yunan mused. A second later, Alibaba's hair was lifted in the air and twisted and pinned against his head. "There! You truly do look like a lady of nobility."

"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" Alibaba demanded angrily. "And I don't want to look like a lady! Change my clothes back to normal right now!"

"No can do."

"What? Why?"

"Because this is part of your mission. Now, calm down and let me explain," Yunan said.

"There better be a good reason for this," Alibaba groused, scowling.

"Yes, yes, there is. Now, I'm sure that you believe me when I tell you that I'm your fairy godfather. After all, not many can do what I can do."

"This is a questionable magic you possess."

"Hush! No interruptions! As I was saying… Not many can do what I can do because there are not many magic-wielders in the world."

"Are you saying that you're a magician?" Alibaba asked in surprise.

"I said no interruptions! And no, I'm not a magician. At least, I'm not of that caliber of magic wielders. I'm a Magi, which is someone who can…utilize magic far better than any other magician." He made a vague twirling gesture with his hand.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll learn more later on," Yunan said dismissively. "Anyway, when someone appoints a magic wielder to be his child's godparent, that godparent becomes a fairy godmother or godfather. Not everyone gets the privilege of having one because the parent had to have formed a strong bond with a magic-wielder. Your father and I had been good friends, which is why I was able to become your fairy godfather."

"If that's the case, then why didn't you become one of my older brother's godfather?"

"I wanted my godchild to be a girl."

"I'm not a girl."

"You're close to one, I suppose." Before Alibaba could sputter out indignantly, Yunan continued. "With every fairy godparent, the godchild is then destined for something great. Whether it is to bring a greater promotion in world peace or become a king, the godparent is to help and guide the child towards that goal. The child's destiny, however, is done in forms of several tasks—we call them missions.

"You can say that these missions are the stepping stones to that great future that you're supposed to have. Can't say what future you _will_ have, though. But given your position, I'm inclined to say that you will grow to become your country's savior."

Alibaba's eyes widened. "I could save Balbadd? But from what? From Kou?"

"From Kou, from your elder brother, from any enemies of Balbadd—whatever the title of savior would serve." Yunan shrugged. "You have the potential the change things, Alibaba."

As though Yunan acknowledging him to be a prince and the son of King Rashid wasn't enough, hearing Yunan say his name aloud made Alibaba believe the man in green. Not only that, but, despite the skeptical introductions, he felt that he could entrust his life to Yunan. Which was strange since Yunan didn't appear to be a reliable person, but Alibaba knew for certain that Yunan was someone who would support him.

It was a nice feeling…

Still, that didn't change the fact that he was wearing a dress. "Okay, I believe you, but why do I have to wear this?"

"Because this is the only way to save your kingdom."

"In a _gown_?"

"How else are you going to do your mission then?"

Alibaba gave him a look. "Shouldn't I be clad in armor with a sword hanging from my side?"

"Goodness, no! What makes you think that you'll have to charge into battle? No, you'll be playing as a spy."

"You mean I'll be listening into some courtesans' conversations?"

"More than that. You'll be sneaking into Prince Kouen's room."

* * *

It took a minute or two for Alibaba to recover from his explosive reaction. Sneak into the room of the Crown Prince of Kou? Maybe Yunan was barmy after all. But before Alibaba could retreat back inside and try to erase his encounter with the man, Yunan convinced him into going through with the mission.

"There's a document in a silver envelop that sits on top of desk of his room. While Prince Kouen technically did not steal it, he plans on not returning it to the Reim Empire, especially once he starts reading it."

"How did he get his hands on it in the first place?"

"Some sort of accidental swap with Kou's scroll and Reim's document by a clumsy valet. It's your job to return this document to the High Priestess of the Reim Empire."

"Is that what my first mission is? Where are you getting this mission from anyway?"

"I read it from the flow of the rukh. Now, you mustn't delay. You only have until midnight to finish your mission."

Yunan didn't elaborate what would happen after midnight. Instead, he ushered him inside the palace. When Alibaba turned around with a question on his lips, Yunan vanished.

As of right now, Alibaba was standing behind a pillar, peering at where the festivities were occurring. His stomach flip-flopped uncomfortably. He was not ready for this!

Apparently, the reason why he was dressed this way was because he had to cross through the ballroom. And the reason why he had to cross through the ballroom was because any other passageway to Prince Kouen's room was cut off by his guards. This was the only way that Alibaba could bypass the guards and retrieve the document without being caught altogether.

"Okay, no sweat," Alibaba whispered to himself. "You can do this. It's not so hard, right?"

He took a breather and then marched forward...

And kept close to the walls. He ducked and used the crowds of people conceal himself. While he may look like a girl, that didn't mean that his own brothers wouldn't recognize him.

The crowd was denser where Alibaba could hear the uproarious laughter and female titters. He surmised that King Sinbad was gathering a flock around him, and both Ahbmad and Sahbmad were probably by his side. As for the Kou princes… There were two towering men donning Kou uniform that stood behind a man with a mop of wild red hair. Alibaba wasn't sure if he was a prince or not—his sluggish appearance would indicate otherwise.

Alibaba fisted the skirt of his dress and trekked onwards. He was nearing the balcony, which was halfway across the ballroom. So far, so good.

"Will you dance with me?"

"No thank you. I'm not interested," Alibaba replied without pause, not bothering to look up.

That obviously did not sit well with the man because before Alibaba could keep walking, a large hand seized him by the wrist and jerked him backwards.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Alibaba tried to tug back his arm, but the man had a good grip on him. "I said no."

"The least you could do is look at my face," the man said gruffly.

And so Alibaba did. And he promptly felt nauseous.

He was man of impressive height with a set of broad shoulders, eyes of smoldering fire, and hair as red as blood. And if his robes and crown hairpiece didn't give it away, Alibaba didn't know what did.

Standing before him was none other than a Kou prince.

Or at least that was what Alibaba assumed. Would a prince have a goatee? Seriously, why would he have a goatee?

Before Alibaba could think of an answer to either of his questions, the man then pivoted to the center of the room and dragged him along. Alibaba gasped and tried to dig his heels into the floor in hopes of stopping the man, but it was of little use.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Alibaba squeaked.

"I requested a dance, so we dance," was the blank answer.

"I already said no! A-and I can't dance!" As a woman, anyway.

"Then follow my lead."

Next thing he knew, Alibaba was the center of attention. From the corner of his eye, he could see the stunned expressions on both of his brothers' faces. Standing next to them was a tall man wearing a turban—King Sinbad, Alibaba guessed. Taking notice of Alibaba's gaze, the Sindrian king smiled and winked at him. Alibaba suppressed the urge to shudder, but he couldn't prevent the embarrassed heat rising onto his cheeks.

The Kou prince brought Alibaba close to his chest and snaked an arm around his waist. His other hand—the one that caged his wrist—slipped into Alibaba's limp hand. The instruments began their musical piece, and the dancers and their partners stepped into place across the floor. All except for Alibaba and the Kou prince, who both remained standing there like sticks in the mud.

"Um, aren't we dancing?" Alibaba hesitantly asked.

"I don't know the dance to this song," the prince admitted so frankly that it was enough to rub Alibaba the wrong way.

Whether it was better to feel nervous or irritated, Alibaba didn't know. "Then can we go to the sidelines before the other dancers crash into us?"

His hold tightened. "I'm forced to do only one dance and this is that one dance," the prince growled softly.

"Okay, okay, okay! I get it. But how are you going to dance when you don't know how to?"

"You lead."

"I just told you that I don't—"

"You. Lead."

"Alright, alright," Alibaba muttered, and quickly rearranged their position so that it was Alibaba who was holding the prince by the waist and the prince's hand rested on his shoulder. In answer to the prince's displeased look, he retorted, "You said to lead, so I'll lead."

"You're going to make me dance as a woman." It wasn't a question.

"Are you complaining? We could always go to the sidelines."

The prince gripped Alibaba's shoulder painfully. He gave answer.

"Right then."

Alibaba didn't know where his attitude came from. Was it from spending too much time with the regularly flippant cook? He knew that he shouldn't behave so impolitely towards a prince of Kou, but why he couldn't keep a lid on it much less address to the man of his highness and lordship was unknown to him. Maybe he felt energized from snapping at Yunan, so he happened to naturally carry it over to the prince.

It didn't seem that their conversation went on privately either. The dancers neighboring them kept casting them odd glances, and from the corner of his eye he could see Sahbmad paling and Ahbmad fuming.

Ahbmad looked like a ripe tomato.

It was Alibaba's only hope that he was dancing with the younger brother rather than the Crown Prince. That would be a disaster—him, making the Crown Prince and future ruler of a great military nation dance as a woman. Alibaba's only comfort was that he was disguised (and quite convincingly too) as a woman. He was confident that after chopping off his magically grown hair and rubbing a bit of dirt on his face would give him only a faint resemblance of the woman who the Kou prince danced with tonight.

He really did hope that was the case when a foot stepped on his. Alibaba released a yelp. "Holy—_shuffle_, just shuffle instead," he hissed tearfully.

The prince grunted.

"I think you broke my toe," Alibaba mourned. He made a point by swaying funnily.

"You don't seem to know me. Are you ignorant or stupid?"

"Or a bit petulant since I've been forced to dance and have everyone's attention on me." And then Alibaba added, "And perhaps more so since my foot is now severely injured."

The prince raised a brow.

"I don't mean to pay any disrespect, your highness," he relented resignedly. "I know that you're one of the two princes of Kou. But that doesn't change the fact that my foot is sore."

"And so is your attitude," the man deadpanned.

Alibaba scowled. "I know well a woman of cheek, but I never knew what a burden it'd be to be the end of the joke."

"You call a Kou prince cheeky?"

The scowl slipped away. He felt a rise of panic. "Uh. Please don't behead me…?"

"Normally, beheading would be the suitable punishment," the prince drawled, and curled his fingers around Alibaba's tighter when the younger reflexively pulled away, "but you amuse me."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't say things like that, my lord," Alibaba muttered.

"Do I scare you?"

"Terribly so. I'm about to keel over. I suppose it is a comfort to know that I'm entertaining in your eyes. I rather like my head on my shoulders."

The prince eyed him speculatively. "I see."

"As any person would," Alibaba persisted.

"As any would," the prince agreed.

"So…I should remind you that I'm not much of a dancer. I might step on your feet by accident, just to warn you."

"I won't behead you for that," he assured. "And you stepping on my feet won't be a problem. I am wearing boots."

"Who would wear boots to the ball?" Alibaba blurted out in disbelief. "Did your servants not think about giving you proper dancing shoes?" Moreover, the prince looked like he would be more presentable in a war meeting than a ball. Unintentionally, he scanned the prince's outfit with a critical eye.

"Are you judging me?"

"Um. Since you said that you're not going to behead me, I'll take the liberty to say that you're unfit to be here in the ball." And that was saying something coming from a scullery servant that was Alibaba. "You look like you'd be more comfortable with a sword in hand."

"And you appear comfortable making remarks about me."

"In no offense, of course," he said. "Seriously, though. Please don't behead me."

Instead of beheading, the prince stepped on Alibaba's foot again.

When the song was over, Alibaba immediately released his hold of the prince and tried to slip away. Unfortunately, he was too slow because the prince had inflicted him with a probable permanent limp. The prince, as he did before, caught his wrist and jerked him backwards.

"You're limping."

"I can walk it off, my lord," Alibaba said, eye twitching.

"I did not think that I would actually hurt you any more than bruising."

"You're telling me you stepped on me on _purpose_?" Alibaba exclaimed.

"You may be amusing, woman, but you speak too freely."

"I'm not a—!" He shut his mouth, his teeth clicking. "I mean, uh. Please don't behead me."

The prince appraised him with an exasperated look. "You are indeed annoying too. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"You just confirmed it once though!"

He pointedly looked down at Alibaba's foot.

"Oh, come on! Verbal confirmation is different than—"

"You brat!" Alibaba flinched and turn his head around to find Ahbmad storming his way towards him. Sahbmad trailed after with a worried expression. Alibaba gulped. This wasn't good.

"I have to get going now," Alibaba said, trying to tug his arm free, but the prince wouldn't let go. "I'd greatly appreciate it if you would release me."

"With your injured foot?"

"That you caused with your great big boot? Yes. Now let go."

"No." The prince swiftly directed his attention to Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who both stilled under his hard gaze, before returning back to Alibaba. "Who are you?"

"No one special," Alibaba instantly replied. "Just a…person who happens to live here in the palace. I'm a maid—yeah, a maid."

He cowed under the prince's sharp glare. "Lies."

"I-I'm not lying—"

"Who is this girl?" the prince asked—no, demanded from Ahbmad.

A sneer broke across Ahbmad's face. "He's—"

"Our little sister!" Sahbmad finished hastily. "She's our little sister."

It took every bit of Alibaba's will power to not slap his forehead. Sahbmad made the situation more or less worse. It would have been easier if he went along with him being a maid.

The prince's hand drifted from his wrist to his shoulder. "What is your name?" he commanded to know.

"Cinderella," Alibaba answered steadily, but his heart was thundering. One lie on top of another.

"I wasn't aware there was a Balbaddian princess," commented a jovial voice. The Sindrian king.

The Kou prince's gaze didn't leave Alibaba's face. "Neither did I."

"Well," Alibaba began slowly, "I don't know which brother you are, so all's fair, I suppose."

There was a tense silence. Ahbmad's face turned impossibly purple whereas Sahbmad appeared to be on the verge of fainting.

King Sinbad broke the silence by barking out a loud laugh. "All is fair. Wouldn't you agree, Prince Kouen?"

Alibaba felt the blood rush out of his face.

Prince _Kouen_ grunted.


	2. Cinderella Part 2

**Into the Woods and Down the Dell**

**SUMMARY:** AU: Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived with her stepsisters. Well, half-brothers, actually. And this maiden was no maiden, but no one, not even his fairy god father, could make that distinction for some reason.

* * *

**Chapter 2:** Cinderella Part 2

* * *

"Alibaba, please tell me _what was going on in your head_ when you decided to attend the ball?" Sahbmad desperately asked. "Why are you dressed this way? Why did you come even though you knew that Brother would be highly upset with you being present?"

"I'll explain later, Sahbmad," Alibaba whispered. "But please keep your voice down. As of right now, you have to refer to me only as Cinderella, your sister."

Sahbmad looked like he wanted to say more, but then he lowered his gaze to the floor and despondently nodded. Then he murmured, "I hope you know what you're doing…"

"Trust me. I've got everything planned out." More like Yunan did, but a plan was a plan, wasn't it?

The two sat behind the curtains before the party as they waited for Ahbmad, King Sinbad, Prince Kouen, and the other Kou prince to finish their discussion. Funnily enough, that sluggish-looking man was a prince after all—Prince Koumei, to be exact.

Alibaba would have skirted past the situation by getting up and leaving, but when he attempted to excuse himself beforehand, Prince Kouen had him sit back down after casting him a stern look. That man was frightening. It was a wonder how Alibaba managed to dance with him.

Sahbmad had shared the same thought because when Prince Kouen escorted him to a seat, Sahbmad went into hysterics and started hovering over him in breathless cries of "Are you insane?" Alibaba had to keep his older brother from revealing too much. He wasn't sure just how well the Kou prince would react to knowing that the supposed Balbaddian princess was actually a cross-dressing servant.

Apparently, neither King nor princes bat an eye to the sudden existence of there being a princess. They were under the impression that the late King Rashid was overprotective of his only daughter, so he had her hidden from the world behind the strong walls of the palace. Surprisingly, it was Ahbmad who kept things under wraps. Alibaba thought that the eldest would be eager to tattle on his slum rat of a sibling.

Alibaba lifted his dress by a few inches to inspect his foot. Along with Sahbmad's horrified squawk, Alibaba worriedly frowned. "How could my foot gone from red to purple?" he wondered aloud. "It looks swollen too."

"Oh no! Ali—Cinderella, how does it feel? Does it hurt when you apply pressure on it?" Sahbmad fretted.

"I don't—ow! Yeah, it does hurt." Alibaba winced.

"You certainly don't know when to hold back, brother," the second prince of Kou sighed. Alibaba looked up, finding all four men staring at him. When did they get here? Weren't they just standing by further away?

"I hope you won't treat your wife the same way you treated me, my lord," Alibaba said, only to receive a whack on the head from Ahbmad.

"Do not," Prince Kouen's voice resonated in command. Immediately, Ahbmad recoiled from the Crown Prince's glare and scooted away from Alibaba.

"I-I was j-just punishing my foolish s-sister, your highness," stammered Ahbmad. "Sh-she doesn't know when to control that loose tongue of hers!"

"Even so, I believe that it might be too much to hit girl," King Sinbad said disapprovingly.

Oh no. Ahbmad was being pushed to a corner. Once the ball ended, it was Alibaba who would be receiving the brunt of Ahbmad's ire (if Alibaba being here hadn't already set off that incentive). "No, no, please. Enough of that," Alibaba cut in. "My brother is right. I am in habit of speaking out of turn. In fact, it would be quite hypocritical of you to berate him, Prince Kouen, because it was you who crushed my foot in response to my bad manners."

The Kou men, the ones who were standing behind Prince Koumei during the ball, directed baffled and angry looks at Alibaba. They were rather peculiar in appearance—one with a head of snake-like tresses and the other with a piggish nose. Yet that seemed to intensify their intimidating presence along with their glowers.

"Which hurts a whole ton more than someone cuffing me," Alibaba added, hoping that would clarify anything. It produced the opposite effect that he would have liked to see on the two guards. If anything, they looked like they would be inclined to bludgeon his head.

Fortunately, King Sinbad reacted by snorting good-humoredly. "Yes, the princess is right about that. What are you going to do now, Prince Kouen?"

Prince Kouen frowned. "Can you stand?"

Alibaba slid off from his seat and placed all his weight onto his good foot when the other foot instantly throbbed painfully at the tentative contact with the floor. "I think I can hobble at most."

"I see."

Prince Kouen suddenly stepped in front of Alibaba. He then slid one arm around the boy's waist and the other swept under his legs. Alibaba squawked in surprise when his body was being lifted up as his arms automatically flew up and wounded around the man's neck.

Prince Kouen was carrying him like a _bride_.

"What—wait, wait, wait!" Alibaba sputtered. "H-hold on! Put me down!"

"You can't even walk," Prince Kouen stated flatly.

"But this is embarrassing!" And it was attracting undesired attention from the guests. And from his gawking brothers.

Prince Kouen ignored him and briskly passed by the men. Prince Koumei, unfazed by his brother's abrupt action (that would imply that Prince Kouen did these sort of things often, wouldn't it?), called out after him in a slightly curious voice, "You shouldn't leave when the ball isn't over yet. Where are you headed?"

"My room."

"You two kids have fun," King Sinbad cheerfully said.

To think that all it took was a broken foot to infiltrate the area where Alibaba had to go to in the first place. And it was the Crown Prince himself who was taking him there.

The prince's guestroom, like all the other rooms, was furnished in Kou design. Granted, there wasn't much to alter the beds, desks, and couches; however, there was still a nuance from Balbadd to Kou. The hanging pictures, the color and patterns, the fragrance of lit incense… Even the lighting was different—if anything, the room seemed dim.

Yet, unlike any room within the palace, Prince Kouen's room was quite spacious and luxurious, strangely more so than even King Rashid's when Alibaba had entered inside the hours before his timely passing. On the long table in the middle of the room was a large bowl of exotic fruit. Against the farthest wall was a tall shelf that housed numerous scrolls. Alibaba suspected that Ahbmad decided to shower Prince Kouen in extravagance. Though, he was certain that it was Sahbmad who made sure that the extravagance wasn't taken to an obnoxiously flamboyant degree.

Prince Kouen set Alibaba down gingerly (as carefully as a man of his disposition would, supposedly) on a chair. Alibaba gave an involuntary shiver when the man's large hands gently cradled his ankle and propped the swollen foot on a stool. It wasn't that the prince's hands were cold…but it felt strange. Alibaba then winced when his golden slipper was pulled off, his foot throbbing once more.

"Looks bad," Prince Kouen commented absently.

Did he not know how to behave contritely or was he too prideful? Alibaba wondered a bit petulantly.

Prince Kouen rose back to his full height and walked over to a chest that sat at the foot of the bed. It was then that he pulled out a sword.

"Whoa! What are you going to do with that thing?" Alibaba exclaimed, reeling back into his seat.

"Do not fear," Prince Kouen said, approaching him as he unsheathed the blade.

"A-are you going to stab me? Because, let me tell you, this won't give you a good reputation…!"

The sword began to softly glow. The words that trailed off of Alibaba's lips were cut short and his eyes were drawn to the illuminating eight-pointed star mark on the blade. Prince Kouen lowered the sword so that the flat tip gently kissed his bare foot. Warmth permeated into his skin, and Alibaba couldn't help but gasp at how the comforting heat made the pain dissipate. He glanced down, finding his foot back to normal.

"Unbelievable! You have a magic sword that can heal injuries!" he said in awe, wriggling his toes and lifting his foot up to better inspect it.

"Hm." Prince Kouen slipped his sword back into its scabbard and set it aside before sitting down across from Alibaba.

"I think that I should thank you, but it isn't like you gave me an apology," the boy prompted, wondering if the prince would then actually utter two apologies afterwards—one for stepping on him and another for his discourtesy (not that Alibaba was one to talk).

But, instead of apologizing, Prince Kouen said, "You're unlike any princess I've encountered."

Alibaba blinked. "Have…you met several princesses then?"

He gave some sort of grunt. Alibaba didn't know what that meant.

"Well, it's not like I'm a princess anymore." Or at all. "Kou subjugated Balbadd, so I'm without any standing."

Prince Kouen tilted his head to the side, as though thoughtfully. "Do resent me for that?"

Alibaba was taken aback by the question. "I…don't like how our culture has been taken away from us," he answered honestly. "I don't like the slavery system, even if the slaves would be freed after five years of work, but I suppose that it's a better alternative to what my oldest brother was planning." Alibaba couldn't help but frown at the remembrance of Ahbmad wanting to sell Balbadd's citizens to pay off his increasing debts. The very idea of turning his fellow countrymen into slaves was downright repulsive. "On that note, the economy is handled better."

"The slavery system is comparably more humane than any other part of the world."

"While that may be true, to have a person enslaved in the first place isn't humane at all," he said, eyebrows furrowing. "I'll be straightforward and say that my brother Ahbmad was thinking selfishly when he thought that it would be a good idea to make our people into slaves and sell them to Kou. It's injustice to force a person out of his home and suddenly live his life as a dog just because the king decrees it so. In fact, the king would be no king, but a dictator."

"And you would label us to be dictators?"

"I mean no offense. I was just stating aloud my opinions, if you didn't mind. I'm hardly well-informed of anything that goes on anymore, but from what I've gathered the Kou Empire intends on having the entire world under its rule. If I'm correct, then this slavery system is somehow relative to that plan. Is it to induce fear? Remind the people of something? I can't say that I know for certain. I'm just…a former princess, so I wouldn't know anything. But I would say that our beliefs differ. But, then, I say again, the system is better than my brother's alternative and the economy is well-handled."

"But you still despise Balbadd being under Kou's rule."

"Um, yes. I hate it. Balbadd had been going through a difficult state, but I loved Balbadd for what Balbadd is. For what Balbadd _was_." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "But, well, not that it matters, I guess. My opinions aren't important, and it isn't like they were in the beginning either… Kou is the handler on Balbadd's future—that's how it is now."

"And Balbadd will be in capable hands," Prince Kouen said as though it was an affirmation. "This country is now a part of the Kou Empire, and I won't allow it to fall."

The corners of Alibaba's lips quirked upwards. "I haven't known you for very long, lord, but I can already tell that you're a man of your word."

"I haven't known you for very long, but I can already deduce that you are insecure of yourself in contrast to your outspokenness," the prince replied bluntly. "I wonder if you are the type to be perfectly comfortable in running away from the situation or leaving the responsibility to others. You see yourself possessing better capabilities than the governor, in which you perhaps do. It is shown how you would have fortitude for your people. Yet you hold yourself back because you are limited by the mentality that a princess cannot do anything. I would not have regarded you to be a fool until now after hearing how you would make note of your limitations. If you truly do love your country, then any obstacle you face shouldn't make you waver in indecisiveness."

Alibaba's smile and mood dropped faster than someone would with a hot potato. He was tempted to say, "Thank you for the criticisms. I'll be sure to apply them to my life sometime later," but held his tongue. This man was very good in ruining the ambience. But Prince Kouen harshly criticizing him wasn't what really rubbed Alibaba the wrong way—it was how accurate he was in describing him and how much Alibaba just realized this.

To believe firmly in something took shape in Alibaba's wish in having done something to prevent the mistakes that Ahbmad had committed. Yet he always held back because…he was the third prince, he was the bastard son of the king, he was a slum rat. Everyone in the palace didn't believe that he could amount to anything and that it was a wasted effort trying to turn him into a child of regality from the dirty brat he was more familiar as.

Momentarily, Alibaba felt angry. What would Prince Kouen know about his limitations? Wasn't he, after all, born and groomed into royalty? How easy would it be to ignore those judging eyes that would wait to see him make a slip-up? To shake off the scorn from every person who he talked to? Or, rather, be suddenly thrust into a completely different world and had to learn how to adapt without the support or acknowledgement of his father, the man who had landed him such a life in the first place?

But, then again…if he truly loved Balbadd and its people, then shouldn't they matter more?

The anger faded away into resignation and mild self-depreciation. He lifted his gaze from where they had fallen onto his lap and gave a pursed smile. "You are right about that, my lord," he sighed. "I did not do a thing."

"Hm."

"But that isn't to say that I'll start taking action against the Kou Empire. I don't fancy the idea of costing lives due to rebellion."

Prince Kouen stared at him for a moment. "You are unlike any princess I've encountered," he repeated, "and I can see that your faults are stemmed from childish ignorance."

"Is that a compliment or another censure…?"

"Take it however you like." Prince Kouen stood from his seat. "If you had the opportunity to reign as queen of your country, would you take it?"

Alibaba was startled. "Wh-what? _Queen_?"

"That could be resolved easily," the man said, crossing his arms while looking down at him, "if you, Cinderella Saluja, would marry a Kou prince."

Alibaba's jaw dropped. And gaped at the man for ten seconds. It was ten seconds that was enough to rouse impatience from the prince.

"Well? Do I have your answer?" Prince Kouen snapped.

"M-m-m-marry? In-into Kou?" Oh no. Oh no, no, no. This was not looking good. How could this have happened? "B-but why? I mean, why _me_?"

"You interest me, and I can already see the prospering future you could bring to Balbadd. Whether to have you as my sister or wife, if you are to stand by Kou then such entitlement can be granted to you."

Oh goodness. As his _wife_.

For the sake of his pride as a man (and the safety of his wellbeing), Alibaba mustered up an answer: "I'll think about it."

This, unfortunately, displeased Prince Kouen. "There is nothing to think about," he said. "There should be either one answer: yes or no."

"Look, your highness, while it may be easy for you to answer, for me it is not so!" Alibaba weakly protested. "I-I mean, we just met! Isn't a proposal a bit too soon?"

Prince Kouen looked like he was about to break into another tirade of fault-picking when there was a knock on the door. The prince didn't shift his gaze or frown from Alibaba's face, but it was to the boy's immense relief that he didn't ignore the knock.

"Enter," Prince Kouen barked.

"My brother and king," said Prince Koumei greeted after opening the door. "You've taken longer than I thought you would in healing the princess."

"What is it, Koumei?"

"King Sinbad requests that we start the meeting now. Apparently, he wants to get this over with like how we do."

"Hm."

Alibaba belatedly noticed that Prince Koumei was looking at him over his fan. He awkwardly bowed his head towards the second prince, and kept his eyes cast low and hands folded like how he would see the nobles' daughters would do. Of all times to act demure, and it had to be after Prince Kouen made his freaking proposal. Did it make it appear as though he was happy by the prospect of marriage or the other way around? Alibaba didn't know; at the moment, he was in shock. He couldn't bring himself to raise his chin and meet gazes.

A hand clamped down onto his shoulder, eliciting a jump from him. "Remain here," Prince Kouen ordered meaningfully. "I will be back to finish our conversation."

"R-right…"

After watching the two Kou princes make their leave, Alibaba shot up to his feet with a hardening determination.

He needed to get that document.

Neglecting his other shoe that sat on the stool, Alibaba bounded over the stool and hurried towards to where the desk was. There, on top of the smooth oak, was the silver envelope. The envelope was two hands wide and three hands tall. The small closed flap at the top was sealed with wax. He picked up the envelope and was surprise to find it mildly bulky. It would take a little less than a fortnight to finish reading the document.

Alibaba tucked the document under his arm and went straight to the door. He was about to push it open, but paused when he heard voices. He pressed an ear against the surface, hearing a conversation being exchanged between two men in another tongue—the language of Kou.

He stepped back. Did Prince Kouen station guards at his door? If so, then it looked like Alibaba had to find another way out. Who knew how long this meeting would take? If the prince caught sight of him stealing, then he would probably retract that promise of beheading him.

Then…to the windows.

Outside the twin windows was a balcony. Alibaba wasn't sure exactly how he was going to get down, but if he managed to climb down that mountain of trash in the junkyard back in the slums when he was five-years-old, then scaling down a building shouldn't be so hard, right?

Alibaba peered down, down, down, the railing pressed against his stomach.

Yeah, this would be impossible.

"Ugh. What now?"

He suddenly had a vision of him partaking henna night with a group of females, giggling and gossiping. Alibaba scowled and shook his head.

He was in a white gown, holding onto the arm of Prince Kouen as they stood before a priest.

No! No! Becoming a Kou bride could not be the solution!

They had five kids.

"Gah! How could this have happen!" Alibaba cried, digging his fingers into his hair. "How is this my life?"

Concealed by the shadows, a figure fell somewhere from above and landed onto the balcony with a thud. Alibaba shrieked (like a man) and backed away in stumbling steps.

The figure straightened to its full height and stalked onwards. Stepping into the lighting, it was revealed to be none other than…Yunan.

"Oh, geez! You scared me!"

"Sorry about that," Yunan said with a merry smile, effectively cutting off the sincerity of the apology. "Anyway, do you have the document?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Alibaba held up the document, to which Yunan hummed in approval.

"Excellent. While you were busy for the past two hours, I made you a satchel to store your items in." The man in green tossed him a dark brown bag with a strap. "I placed a barrier seal on it so that the contents would be protected and safe from thieving hands. Store the document inside."

Alibaba did as he was told, and then slung the strap over his shoulder and chest. "Okay, now what?"

"Now we wait."

"Wait for what?"

Yunan did a cursory survey of the area. "Oh, a friend," he explained offhandedly. "He'll be joining us on our adventure." When his head turned to the roof, he paused. A smile then broke across his face. "Ah, there he is."

A man, as far as Alibaba could tell under the shadows, slid down from the slope of the rooftops and leapt down. He stepped out of the darkness.

"You got the carpet!" Yunan exclaimed gleefully. He took the rolled carpet from the man and set out to lay it across the floor. "By the way, Alibaba, this young man here is—"

"Kassim," Alibaba finished in a choked voice. He couldn't stop staring, his widened eyes drinking in the sight of the person before him. Those dreads. Those eyes. It just… How could it be…?

Yunan raised his head from the carpet and glanced between the two. "You two know each other?"

"You can say that," the man—Kassim—said. He took the cigar from his lips and blew out a stream of smoke. "Though, I gotta say, I was expecting a prince instead of a princess."

Kassim smirked. "You're full of surprises, Alibaba."


	3. Rumplestiltskin Part 1

**Into the Woods and Down the Dell**

**SUMMARY:** AU: Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived with her stepsisters. Well, half-brothers, actually. And this maiden was no maiden, but no one, not even his fairy god father, could make that distinction for some reason.

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Rumplestiltskin Part 1

* * *

Flying on a magical carpet was a bizarre experience. When Alibaba hesitantly climbed onto the floating rug, he half-expected it to drop along with his weight. However, it remained steady in mid-air, the carpet stretched flatly taut where only a knoll was formed underneath where his weight sat. When they took flight, the rush of air, the acceleration, the race in the cold night sky… It was exhilarating.

Unfortunately, according to the flow of the rukh, as Yunan would notify, it wouldn't leave Alibaba any room to grow and mature if they took a convenient shortcut to Reim. To experience interacting with different people and familiarize with different cultures were apparently a highly significant chunk of this destiny route. This was part of his future—to leave his footprints on the lands that he would journey across.

Kassim called it nonsense crap, and Alibaba couldn't help but agree. Must they really do this all on foot? It would take months to reach Reim when it could possibly take a few days on flight.

But Yunan was adamant that they do it this way. So he lowered them to the ground and rolled up the carpet, and they walked from there.

Trekking on foot wasn't entirely too bad, if Alibaba was honest. Being isolated within the palace, he never got the opportunity to know what it was like to see the world. Granted, neither did Ahbmad nor Sahbmad since they never showed much interest in venturing out for diplomatic visits to other nations, but he now thought that the two were certainly missing out.

The street bustle of Qishan wasn't too different from that of Balbadd from what Alibaba could recall from his childhood days. The two were both merchant-thriving places (for Balbadd, it once was). But Qishan didn't have a port, so instead of the salty breeze there were spices and incense that enriched the air. There was also a particular atmosphere that the people here gave off. It was interesting.

The three stayed here for two days so far. The fairy godfather was rather upset about Alibaba forgetting to put on the other shoe. ("Do you know how much magic I spent crafting those beauties? If you didn't want them, we could have sold them to a merchant!") Nevertheless, he still made a considerable fortune from selling the carpet after bedazzling it with his magic. Kassim then left to purchase food from traders, not before commenting on how Yunan was terrible at bargaining (which prompted a pout from the man in green).

Alibaba didn't know what would happen when his disappearance would be discovered. He was worried that the Kou princes would give his brothers a hard time, but Yunan assured him that he placed a note on the balcony. When Alibaba asked what the note entailed, Yunan just placed a finger to his lips and winked. "It's a secret!" he had said.

There were other questions that Alibaba had in mind. There were some that Yunan actually answered.

("Why'd you tell me that I had to finish my mission before midnight?"

"Because I didn't want to stay any later than midnight. I had an exhausting day, let me tell you.")

And there were some that he wouldn't. For instance, Kassim.

Why was Kassim here journeying with them? Did Yunan plan for this to happen? Or was it all part of this destiny that Alibaba had to fulfill? Was this all coincidental or was it fated to happen? That his childhood friend and adopted brother would accompany Alibaba and Yunan?

When Alibaba asked, his fairy godfather said that it was simply for them to know and for him to find out. Vague as it was, the boy knew what Yunan meant by that. He would have to ask Kassim himself. Alibaba was starting to get a good idea about how these things worked—like how Yunan wouldn't give him any shortcuts with his magic, Alibaba would just have to work his way into getting what he wanted. And that was the real challenge here—confronting Kassim.

When he left the slums to go to the palace with King Rashid, Kassim and he didn't exactly part on good terms. And when they met again half a decade ago when Alibaba sneaked away from the palace grounds, they got into another fight. Alibaba sporting a black eye got Kassim into so much trouble when the guards came to fetch him. And if it wasn't for Alibaba distracting them long enough for Kassim to make a break for it, Kassim would have gotten a spear through the chest.

Yes, it would be awkward if Alibaba spoke to him as it was already standing next to him. But, curiously enough, Kassim didn't appear to feel anything about it at all if that neutral face indicated anything. When they met again when he was thirteen and Kassim was fourteen, Kassim wore varied expressions. From a bright smile that disguised his anger to that malice that broke across his face when Alibaba…

Well, never mind that.

Anyway, whatever Kassim was feeling right now, he probably either didn't care about what happened in the past or hid it behind a mask of indifference. Alibaba really couldn't tell. He was very much fooled by Kassim's false cheerfulness in the past, and only learned about it afterwards from one of Kassim's friends told him when he tried to reach out for Kassim. Unless that guy from before was lying about that…? Alibaba didn't get it.

He also didn't get why Yunan wanted to spend a few days here in Qishan. Shouldn't they get a move on already? And why wasn't Kassim objecting to this?

"As I figured, there is another Magi in our midst."

Alibaba jolted from Yunan's abrupt declaration. "Wh-what?"

Kassim was perched onto the window sill of the lodge that they were currently accommodating in. He held the cigar from his mouth and blew out a stream of smoke. "Looks like we're going to have to put a halt on our main objective."

"It seems so," Yunan sighed.

Alibaba looked at between the two. "Wait, what is going on?"

His fairy godfather grinned down at him "We're going to do a rescue mission."

"H-huh…?"

"And I've got a plan!"

After Yunan filled in Alibaba and Kassim the plan, Alibaba was stumped.

"What do you mean I have to go in as a girl again?"

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a family of three: the uncle, the nephew, and the niece. Because they were poor and had little to eat, the uncle mulled over what would be best to support both children. Since the girl was already of age, he decided that he should marry her off. To what man exactly, the uncle had one in mind.

The wealthiest man of the land! But how could the uncle possibly get the master of the town to pay any attention to his niece? He then came up with an idea.

One day, the uncle approached the master and bragged about how his niece could spin straw into gold. He then said that the master may have his niece as his wife if he could have a share of the riches. The master barked in laughter, yet, despite the absurdity, he was slightly intrigued by this supposed skill. The master proposed that if the uncle's niece could spin gold for three nights, he would make her his bride. However, if she were to fail, then the master would kill her.

The uncle accepted the deal.

("Yunan, are you insane? Why'd you tell him that I could spin straw into gold?"

"Don't worry! It's all part of the plan."

"What _plan_? If I can't make gold from the first night, then I'm going to be killed!"

"Sheesh, you think that I would allow that to happen to my cute little goddaughter? Have some faith in me!"

"_Godson_. So are you going to endow me powers of gold-spinning?"

"Now, that would be cheating, wouldn't it?"

"Not if it's out of a human's ability to spin freaking gold!"

Much bickering later, Yunan finally relented and handed Alibaba a golden spindle and advised him to hide it in his sleeve.

"I was going to give it to you anyways."

Alibaba gave him an unimpressed look and asked him on what to do with the spindle.)

The nephew was shocked by his uncle's foolishness and hurried to see his sister before she would be taken away. He gave her a bird and instructed her to keep it close to her. If the master intended on killing her, he told her, then she should release the bird outside through the window of her room. The bird would then sing to the nephew, in which the nephew would come to rescue her.

("If your life is in danger, release this bird to the sky. I would then come and save you."

"You gotta be kidding me, Kassim. Where did you—is this a magical bird? Did Yunan tell you to give me a magical bird?"

"Shut up, Cinderella. You're supposed to be the maiden who sings to birds."

"Since when—")

When the master retrieved the niece from the uncle, he had her locked away up in a high tower. Sitting in the middle of the room filled with straw was a spinning wheel…

Alibaba took out the spindle of the spinning wheel and replaced it with the one that Yunan gave him before the master came to take him away. Alibaba then moved to the back of the room and plopped down and waited.

While he did so, he tore a strip from the bottom of the dress he wore, careful not to make the tear too obvious. He still needed to look presentable to the master of the town, but this mass of hair had to be taken care of. Alibaba didn't understand why Yunan couldn't make him a short-haired girl. Heck, not even his mother's hair had been this lengthy—

"Hello, miss!"

A little boy with a long braid and a turban appeared before him. No, he didn't spring from the piles of straw or just simply enter his field of vision. He appeared—literally out of nowhere. This caused Alibaba to jump in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I startled you," the boy said, looking quite guilty. "But I was surprised to find someone new in the castle and I was curious to meet you!"

"O-oh, um…"

"What's your name?"

Alibaba blinked at the question, and mumbled out an answer. "Cinderella."

"What a pretty name for a pretty lady! Say, Cinderella, what are you doing here in the highest tower? And why is there so much hay here?"

This kid hadn't heard? "My uncle told the master that I could spin straw into gold. If I am unable to do this for three nights, I will be killed."

The boy looked horrified. "Oh no! That's terrible! Can you really spin straw into gold?"

"Of course not. I'm not a magician, but my uncle is. You see, he enchanted a spindle to spin anything into gold. The problem is that I don't know how to spin."

"That is a problem."

"Yeah."

"But, you know…"

"Hmm?"

"I know how to spin!" the boy announced proudly. "I spin very well, just so you know. I can help you."

Alibaba couldn't help but smile. "Is that so? Then tell me, master spinner, what is your name? I told you mine, but I have yet to hear yours."

The boy's cheerfulness dimmed. Hesitance took over his features. "Oh, well, I don't know about that, miss. I mean, I'm sure you're a very nice person, but there are…requirements."

"Requirements?"

"Yes, requirements! You said three nights, right? Well, how about we make ourselves a deal?"

"I'm listening," Alibaba said. As the boy began his explanation, Alibaba did his hair into a messy braid and tied the end with the cloth strip.

"For every night that I spin gold for you, you have to reward me something of value. Jewelry, for instance, would do nicely."

"What would a little boy like yourself would do with jewelry?" Alibaba asked curiously.

"I'm not exactly an ordinary little boy, you know," he replied with a smile.

Remembering how he appeared in the room, Alibaba voiced his agreement. "Still, you haven't answered my question."

"If I have to say… I'm in a bit of a predicament," the boy confessed, looking quite sheepish about it. "I chanced upon the town master's carriage full of melons one day and helped to some myself. I-I was really hungry; it wasn't like I intended on stealing or anything! But, well, I had nothing but the clothes on my back to pay him back, so he had me locked up in the tower doing chores."

"But it's as you said earlier—you're not an ordinary boy. You're a magician, aren't you? Couldn't you just magic yourself out of this situation?"

The boy ducked his head. "I wouldn't call myself a magician. I actually don't know what I am, to be honest. Yet, regardless, I can't do much of anything now because he has my name."

Alibaba blinked. "He what?"

"He's keeping my name in custody—my real name. I don't understand how it works, but he has a magician with him who can limit one's abilities by stealing that person's name. Because of that, I don't remember what my name is."

"That's…very strange," Alibaba said slowly. "Um. How long have you been here?"

"I haven't been counting, but if I would have to guess I would say around a month."

Either the kid really did consume that much fruit or the master was taking advantage of the his naiveté. Alibaba was betting the latter. After being here for one month, did the kid really believe that rustic trinkets from a poor girl would set him free? Either way, it didn't matter. It was just clear to him that he was going to take the boy with him once Yunan and Kassim finish their search.

From what he could tell, the kid was likely an orphan. No mention of any guardians, and it sounded like he was on his own. Alibaba wasn't sure how Yunan would feel about bringing in another passenger for their worldly travels, but it wasn't like he was going to abandon the boy.

Boy, kid, boy… Seriously, at least he had to be addressed by some name if not his real name.

"Say, what do the people here call you?" Alibaba inquired.

The boy's features once again darkened in apparent sadness. "Oh, they don't talk to me other than that old man who tells me what my chores are. I think the master forbids them to because whenever I try to talk to them, they just walk away. I don't know why though."

Okay, it was official. The kid needed to get out of here.

"It's the reason why I wasn't comfortable in telling you my name," the boy continued. "I was hoping to distract you by proposing a deal, but in the end I told you everything."

"We'll still have our deal," Alibaba assured. While upholding that promise would ultimately be meaningless, Alibaba still needed someone to spin him the straw. That way, it would buy Yunan more time with his investigations. Additionally, it would be a bit too heartbreaking to see the boy's hopefulness wither. He was just so optimistic—how could Alibaba crush that optimism? "But I still would like to refer to you by something."

The boy tilted his head questionably. "But how? It's not like I have any other name to give you."

"That's why I'll name you," Alibaba said, grinning at his own brilliance. "A substitute name, if you will, until you get your real name back."

"Huh?"

"How about it? It'd be more proper to address a person by name than just call out 'hey, you.'"

"I guess it wouldn't be bad," he said, smiling.

"Right, now come here." Alibaba patted the space next to him. "You're gonna help me think of your new name, okay? Since it's going to be your name, you're going to be the one to reject or accept."

"Okay," the boy chirped, happily plopping down next to him. "So, what are my choices?"

* * *

Out of all the names that Alibaba provided, the boy chose the name Alamir. He said that it sounded "just right," so Alamir it was.

The newly named Alamir gazed at Alibaba with a new light entering his eyes. Alibaba couldn't help but parrot the boy's grin. "So, should I get started on our deal?" Alamir said.

"Nope, not yet."

"No?"

"Before you showed up, I was waiting for someone. I have a feeling that he would show up any time soon."

And indeed he did. A few minutes later, in a sudden pop of smoke, stood Yunan before them. The man smiled down at Alibaba and said, "Sorry for the wait. Got caught up."

"I figured as much."

"Eh? Who's this?" Yunan curiously looked at Alamir who returned his look.

"This is Alamir. He'll be spinning the straw for me, so you don't have to anymore," Alibaba said. "You'll now have more time to go looking for that Magi."

"I wasn't going to spin for you in the first place. I was going to teach you," Yunan huffed. "Anyway, where did the child come from? Did the town master send him up?"

"No, I sent myself up," Alamir answered for himself, staring up at Yunan with intrigue. "I finished my chores early and decided to meet the new girl in the tower. Hi, mister, I'm Alamir. Who are you? How did you do that smoke thing? Are you a magician?"

Yunan, instead of responding, turned his head back to Alibaba and stared at him expectantly. "What?" Alibaba said.

"Since you two bonded so much, why don't I leave it to the new girl to answer?" Yunan said brightly, and then promptly disappeared in a wisp.

"Um, so who was that, Cinderella?"

"My uncle," Alibaba said dryly.

* * *

For the first night, Alibaba gave Alamir a necklace. The boy was innocent enough to believe that it was beaded with real pearls rather than wooden balls coated in paint. This continued for the other two nights where Alibaba gave him a ring and a bracelet. Alamir would then shove the jewelry into his turban and proceed spinning the straw.

The master was immensely pleased to see spools of rich gold in these past mornings. In the final morning when he showed up, the master ordered Alibaba to wait in the tower until his return. Not that Alibaba had any other choice, was the disguised boy's dry thought, since he would be locked inside nevertheless.

Alibaba dearly hoped that Yunan and Kassim would hurry up and take him away. He wasn't looking forward to seeing a man proposing to him. Why did his fairy godfather thought to make marriage the good end of the deal?

As he sat there, waiting, Alamir popped out of thin air—as his usual entrances would be. "So?" Alamir said eagerly. "What did the master say?"

"He just told me to wait until he gets back," Alibaba replied. "But he did appear quite happy with your hard work."

"That means you won't be killed!" Alamir cheered. "I'm so glad, Cinderella!"

"Me too."

"That also means that you're getting married to that man, like how you told me before."

Alibaba smiled grimly. "Perhaps," he said noncommittally. "Perhaps my uncle will change his mind and decide to arrange my wedding with a different man." Or, if lucky, no man at all.

Prince Kouen's face came to mind. Alibaba doughtily waved the image away.

"But, you know, Cinderella," Alamir then said, fiddling with the ends of his braid, "I'm going to miss you."

Alibaba looked at the child with surprise. "What are you saying, Al? Aren't you going to give the jewelry to the master to buy your freedom back?"

Alamir returned his look. "Wha—of course I am! After doing so, I plan on leaving this town. And you'll be staying here in Qishan as the master's wife."

That's right… Alibaba was so caught up with his thoughts of how to convince Yunan in letting Alamir join them that he almost forgot about their made-up back story. He couldn't imagine departing from the little boy despite their three-days time together, much less see the master accept Alamir's ignorant ideas of payment.

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Alibaba said, scratching his head. "Who knows? My uncle might finally develop some sense to see that it's totally harebrained to let his only niece get married to a man like the master."

"The master's not that bad…" Naturally, Alamir thought he was if the boy was trailing off like that.

The blonde grinned. "Anyway, when it comes to that, do you want to come with us? With me, my uncle, and my brother, I mean."

Alamir smiled happily. "I'd like that very much."

After a moment's pause, Alibaba then asked, "Hey, are you a Magi?"

He tilted his head confusedly. "A Magi? What's that?"

Oh yeah. Alamir mentioned that he didn't know what he was.

"Never mind."


	4. Rumplestiltskin Part 2

**Chapter 4:** Rumplestiltskin Part 2

* * *

"I saw something today at the marketplace when I was helping out with the groceries."

Being that Alibaba was the only person who would hold conversations with him, Alamir would appear within his room hours earlier than required to get started on the spinning wheel. Without having to ask, Alibaba could tell from the slightly heavy breathing and the perspiration beading on the boy's skin that Alamir was finishing his chores faster than usual.

Alamir was starved of company. Alibaba could understand since he had experienced that same thing when he was his age, although the teen had been a shy and quiet boy in the palace in contrast to Alamir's exuberant personality. Where Alibaba had learned to deal with the loneliness, Alamir's cheerfulness and love for people had yet to recede. Alamir wanted to engage in another conversation, and Alibaba would humor him with that.

Alibaba lowered the palm-sized book that Alamir had given him and looked over to where he was. "What?"

The child didn't reply, now preoccupied with his miniature mountain of hay. The silence between the two stretched. Just when Alibaba thought he was only hearing things and was about to resume back to his reading, Alamir spoke up.

"I saw an elderly man collapse suddenly. I heard someone say that his heart gave out."

Alibaba's lips thinned. "Oh."

"I asked someone who he was. A lady there said that he used to make pottery, but he retired because his back pains were severe. Despite that, he had lived a good and long life, was what she said."

"That's good."

"I wonder if I'm going to die soon," Alamir mused with a light curiosity that would only befit children of his own youth.

"How old are you?"

"I'm…nine? No, ten. I'm ten—I remember Ugo telling me that."

"Who's Ugo?"

"He's a friend. I haven't seen him in a while ever since I was taken here," Alamir said, sadness tingeing his tone.

"Well," Alibaba said, stretching out his legs from the crossed position he had them in, "unless you're suffering from a terminal illness, you're not going to die for a long, long time."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're ten; you're young. You won't keel over until you're as old as eighty."

"What if I manage to live past eighty?"

"Then you would be a very old man," the blonde teased. "With magic-users, who knows? It might be possible that you may live up to a hundred."

"What about you? Do you think you can live that long?"

"I doubt it, but I would like to live a long life."

"When I die, I would die for infinity," Alamir said resolutely.

Alibaba was about to retort about how one could not die for infinity instead of oblivion, but then held his tongue. There was a saying about how the deceased would return to the flow of the rukh. He was somewhat disinclined to believe that the spirits of the dead would recommence their existence in any shape or form, but the idea of the world's natural phenomenon was perhaps true. Given there was someone like Yunan who consulted the rukh regularly, it could be.

"For infinity?" Alibaba murmured.

"I would age to infinity," Alamir beamed.

* * *

When the door opened, instead of the servants who usually came by to collect the gold that Alamir had spun, two men entered the room. They were a well-dressed young man and a bulky masked sentry with an imposing height who stood behind the first. Alibaba immediately recognized them to be the master and his guard.

Alibaba stood up, tensed. He had a bad feeling what was about to happen. "What is going on here?"

"I apologize, my dear, but it seems that I can't make any room in my heart for a wife," the master said with a genial smile. It was obvious that his intentions were far from genial.

A cold feeling settled in his stomach. "We had a deal."

"And so some deals are meant to be broken. I hope you'll pardon me for that."

Alibaba eyed the guard with unease. "So…you're going to dispose of me?" he said in a shaky voice.

"You catch on rather quick." The master looked highly amused by that. "It almost makes it a shame to have you removed given your talent, but what's one less rat to the world?"

The master snapped his fingers, and the giant man lumbered towards Alibaba. Immediately, Alibaba pulled out the bird that he kept hidden inside his sleeve and tossed it outside between the bars of the window. He watched the few seconds of the bird stretching out its wings during its descent and then swooping into an arc into the sky. It was those few seconds later that Alibaba was then harshly thrown to the floor. A foot stamped onto his face.

"Now, now. What was it that you just threw?" the master asked, cocking his head to one side. Before Alibaba got the chance to utter a word, he was kicked hard in the stomach. The impact sent him skidding across the floor. He wheezed out painfully, but managed to scramble onto his knees in panic while the master ambled forward.

"I-it was just a bird," Alibaba choked out.

The master slowed down in his steps and stared at him in question. "And where did you get a bird?"

"I-it was injured when it flew inside through the window, s-so I thought to nurse it back to full health as I stayed here…"

"I see." The master jerked down his chin in a nod, and the guard wrapped his meaty hands around Alibaba's upper arms. He then hoisted the blonde up high. Alibaba involuntarily yelped by this sudden action. He attempted to struggle free, but it was futile.

The master exited the room first, followed by the guard. Standing outside the door was a servant who began to lead them away. They descended down the spiral of stairs. The darkness enclosed by the walls was kept at bay by the torch that the servant held; nevertheless, the flickering brightness of the flames couldn't wield off the shadows' black tendrils that appear as though they would try to encroach as the four continued to move on.

Alibaba chalked it off as his general paranoia for creepy places mixed with his internal freak-out of his impending doom. Where the hell was Yunan? Or Kassim? Didn't Kassim say that he would come to his rescue if he freed the bird? He could really use some saving right about now!

When they reached the bottom of the stairway, the master dismissed the servant, who quickly bowed in respect and scurried off. Then the master sauntered along down the corridor where the open windows allowed the afternoon sunlight to enter. They were still in the tower, as Alibaba knew since he remembered the area since his first day being brought here.

He craned his neck to have a look around. There was nary a worker here, unlike how it was before when he followed an elderly maid to his room. Not that it mattered if there was anyone here. It wasn't like he could scream out for help and expect anyone to lend a hand in his situation.

Finally, they stopped inside a large chamber. There was a long rug that was rolled from the entrance to the steps of the stately chair that the master climbed up to sit upon. As the man relaxed into his seat, Alibaba was then thrown forward onto the floor. The blonde gave a grunt as his long hair got everywhere.

"I suppose you're wondering why I personally came to see you apprehended," the master started.

The term "apprehended" was poorly used. Not that Alibaba was going to say anything about it.

"According to my sources," the man continued, clearly not caring to hear Alibaba's response, "there had been a breach within my manor—a magical one—for the past three days. And this sudden breach dated back to the same day of your arrival to my manor. Coincidence much?"

Alibaba, now having pulled himself up so that he was kneeling, stared at the master in unease. What did the man mean by a magical breach? As far as Alibaba was aware of, he didn't possess the capabilities in doing any form of magic. Unless… Unless the master was unknowingly inferring to the enchanted spindle and bird that he had kept on his person… Did the items that he carried set off some kind of trigger?

He nervously swallowed. Did the master view him as a threat? He looked far from circumspect the way he didn't hesitate kicking Alibaba around and how he was lounging on his seat. Perhaps he saw him as a nuisance that required disposing of. The man wanted to have him killed, after all.

"To be honest, I'm rather disappointed. I was expecting you to fight back, but instead you easily allowed yourself to be taken down. I'm assuming that you released that bird as a cry for help, but it won't be of any use." The master shook his head and flicked his wrist. "You just made your own extermination easier."

The floor beneath Alibaba's hands and knees thrummed lightly. He instinctively threw a glance over his shoulder, and his breath hitched in alarm when he saw the guard slowly approaching him. Alibaba rose onto his feet and was about to make a dash for it—where to, he didn't know, but anywhere that didn't cut his life too short. However, his impulse to run couldn't be carried out—his knees were buckling too much.

Facing his demise in the form of a scabbard-wielding man rather than old age was not something that Alibaba had ever imagined. Trepidation seized him like never before. He had lived a rocky life as a kid from the slums and a struggling young prince, but he also lived a cushiony life where he didn't teeter between life and death.

Alibaba vigorously shook his head. No, no, no! This was too soon! Didn't Yunan say that he had a destiny to fulfill? Yunan wasn't even here yet, so Alibaba had to buy time.

"W-wait!" Alibaba cried out, forcing his voice out. "I-I don't understand. I can make you gold, b-but you would turn away from that?"

To his immense relief, the guard stopped in his tracks and turned his attention to the master for directions. To his dismay, however, the master barked out a laugh and rolled his hand to signal the guard's continuation. "Stupid girl, do you honestly think that you're the only one to possess such abilities? There's no use trying to make yourself worth something. You greedy peasants are all the same."

Alibaba inwardly cursed and focused on the situation at hand.

Keeping a wary eye on the guard, he weighed his options. There were two things about the master that he could conclude: the master liked hearing his own voice and was here for a blood-splattering show. The gleeful expression on the man's face aside, the master did say that he personally came to see Alibaba because he was hoping to see him put up a fight. If Alibaba had a short sword, he could probably defend himself from the guard and entertain the master at the same time. Nevertheless, it had been quite some time since Alibaba picked up a weapon and practiced his swordsmanship.

He considered asking the master an opportunity to defend himself by requesting a sword, but then tucked that idea away for now. He steadied himself on the toes of his feet before the guard made his blow, and then rolled away from the attack that was aimed for his head. The scabbard was embedded into the stone wall, but the guard pulled it out with relative ease. Alibaba gulped.

Perhaps trying to fight against the guard wouldn't be such a good idea. He had the advantage of dexterity and was swift on his feet in comparison to the guard's slow-paced steps, but he was doubtful that he had the stamina to keep this dance up. Not to mention the obvious gap in terms of strength. If they were to clash blades, the guard would easily overwhelm him and Alibaba would be killed in an instant.

He yelped in shock when the guard suddenly burst into a lunge. He leapt in retreat as the shiny weapon was swung downwards, and hissed when it managed to nick his calf. A stream of blood colored the skirt of his dress from where the tear was made.

The long fabric was obstructing him of free movement. Before Alibaba once again rolled himself out of danger, he hastily tore off the skirt, leaving his legs bare.

"Things have become interesting," the master laughed. "Why don't you use your magic to save yourself, girl?"

A couple leaps here and a couple ducks there, Alibaba was now pressing himself against the wall. The cut that he received ached and was proving to be quite bothersome, but he ignored it in favor of maintaining his focus on the guard.

Alibaba grimaced. He didn't know much about the master other than the two facts that he established. Well, it did seem like he had a poor view on peasants—was he under the assumption that all peasants were money-hungry? Trying to appeal to him about how he could be much wealthier by keeping Alibaba didn't work out the first time.

Maybe he should try to shower the master with compliments? Or fabricate a story about how he was actually an almighty being? Seriously, what should he do? Yunan didn't arrive yet (or would he ever?) and Alibaba was starting to get tired from all this dodging. The option of fighting back didn't seem plausible anymore.

Just when things couldn't get any worse, Alibaba lost his footing when he landed away from the guard and fell onto his side. Before he could prop an arm up, the guard towered over him in seconds. The man pulled his arm back and held the scabbard over his head, and Alibaba squeezed his eyes shut.

Suddenly, behind his eyelids, Alibaba saw a flash of bright light—it was incredibly bright, and he could feel its warmness against his skin. When the light dimmed, he tentatively opened his eyes, finding Alamir standing between him and the guard.

"Alamir!" Alibaba whispered.

"Goltas, please!" Alamir shouted.

The guard, who had staggered a few steps back, seemed to hesitate as the scabbard in his hand lowered by inches. The master, however, was quick to react.

"What are you doing, Goltas? Finish the girl!"

"Master Jamil, I beg of you," Alamir said with seriousness that did not befit the childishness of his voice "spare this girl."

The master scoffed. "Spare her? You dare tell me what to do, brat?" He slid off of his throne. The amused smile that had been on his face was now replaced by an irritated frown. "You got a lot of nerve."

"I've been collecting money to repay by debt," Alamir said, eyes now averted from the guard to the master who was sauntered over to where they were. "But in my place for freedom, please give it to Cinderella instead."

Alibaba's eyes widened. By money… Alamir couldn't mean…

Jamil raised an eyebrow, curiosity glinting in his eyes but his frown remained. "Oh? Is that so? Have you been stealing again?"

"No, I have not." With that said, Alamir dug a hang into his turban and pulled out the necklace, ring, and bracelet that Alibaba had given to him during the past three nights. The boy held up the trinkets to the master and waited expectantly. Jamil eyed them with a second speculation before snorting derisively.

"Foolish boy—did you really think that these worthless trashes would compensate any payment?"

"T-trash?" Alamir bemusedly looked at the jewelry in his hands.

"Yes, trash. Now, move aside, boy. Goltas has a job to carry out."

"I-I have another proposition, sir!" the child quickly said. "Rather than have my debt settled, I will serve you for life. Just—just please don't kill Cinderella!"

Alamir just couldn't get a clue, could he?

Alibaba pulled himself into a squat and kept both hands on the wall behind him. He kept an eye on Goltas in case the man made any sudden movements to attack, but watched Alamir from the corner of his eye. It didn't seem that Goltas's attention was on him anymore.

"Ugh. You are so annoying." Jamil glared at Alamir. "I hate people who stubbornly don't know when to give up."

For a second, Alibaba feared that the master would hurt the boy by kicking or slapping him. From the stellar treatment that he had been giving him, Alibaba was afraid that the master's cruelty would now extend to Alamir for coming to his defense and ruining his entertainment.

Seeing a sword strapped to the master's hip, Alibaba thought of the worst. Would Alamir fail to live up to a hundred?

Panic gripped him, and his mouth started working without him willing it to.

"He's—he's a Magi! Don't hurt him!"

Jamil's shoulders jerked, his body freezing, but the man didn't take his eyes off of Alamir, who was responding to this with unnerve. The silence was heavy, and Alibaba even felt uncomfortable allowing himself to stabilize his breathing to avoid making unnecessary noise.

From what he could see, Jamil knew what a Magi was. But how did he view them? Did he make a mistake? Did he inadvertently sentence Alamir to his death?

Suddenly, Jamil swiveled at Alibaba's direction, his eyes wide and manic.

"What did you say?"

The master grabbed Alamir's upper arm and hoisted him up. The trinkets that the boy held scattered to the floor as Alamir's other hand flew over to Jamil's unrelenting grip. The man now turned his savage eyes back onto him, eliciting a whimper out of him.

"So you're telling me that this runt isn't merely a magician…but a Magi?"

Rising to his full height, Alibaba took off and bolted towards Jamil. This caught both Goltas and Jamil off guard, who responded to the blonde's takeoff with belated reactions. Alibaba thrust his shoulder into the master's chest, hurtling his weight to cause the man to stagger back and loosen his hold on Alamir. He then wrapped his arms protectively around the child and determinedly placed a couple meters of distance between them.

Jamil watched the proceedings with an apathetic expression. Then his body shook until a snigger escaped him. His amusement took form of eventual chortles.

"Magi… A Magi…" Jamil smirked, narrowing his eyes at Alibaba. "So that's why you're here…"

"Cinderella…" Alamir began, but Alibaba immediately silenced him.

"Quiet, Al."

"Interesting. Very, very interesting." He then called out, "Maimoonah."

A figure drew from the shadows as though the darkness was a pool of water. It entered the light with a fluidness that Alibaba was certain that didn't exist even the most graceful of mankind, yet feet poked out from under the dragging ends of the robe it wore. It was hunched over, and its long hood concealed its face. In its papery white grip was a tall wooden staff that looked as gnarled as its hand.

Alamir tugged at his sleeve. "C-Cinderella, that's him. That's the magician that took my name," he whispered, anxiousness evident in his tone.

"Really?" Alibaba eyed the magician with renewed caution.

"He has my flute in his robes," Alamir said urgently. "I-I can _feel_ it. I know my name is contained in it."

The magician coasted over to the spot next to Jamil. In a croaky and raspy voice, the hooded figure inquired, "How can I be of service to you, young master?"

"Maimoonah, I want to know why you have not informed me that the servant boy here is a Magi," Jamil said in a measured tone, gesturing at Alamir.

"A Magi, you say?" Maimoonah turned, his robe swirling along with his movement. The blonde could feel Alamir flinch. "With all due respect, that child is certainly not a Magi. He doesn't possess a high quantity of magic even before I stripped him of his name."

"Is that right? Then the magic-breach girl over there just happened to be lying about him being a Magi?"

"Ah, her. Now, young master, I don't know what nonsense the girl has been filling your head, but I assure you that he is not a Magi."

"Indeed," Jamil said dryly. "Tell me then, Cinderella, why do you say that he is one?"

Alibaba nearly jumped out of his skin when the master addressed him by name—false allegation or not. His mind frenzied over what convincing lie he could generate. A Magi? Why did he have to say that? Yet the reason being that he was able to proclaim that Alamir was a Magi was when he automatically traced back to their brief conversation of whether he was one or not. There wasn't any certainty that the master knew what a Magi was—Alibaba sure didn't until he met Yunan (and still didn't know much)—but he did and there was no turning back from there.

As it turned out, there wasn't any need to fabricate a story for Alibaba's infiltration and Alamir's magical inheritance. Flying into the chamber from a high window was a man, donning his usual bearskin, surfing downward on a carpet. Kassim.

* * *

**AN:** I'm not much of a writer for fight scenes, and, honestly, this chapter didn't satisfy me. Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoyed it.


	5. Rumplestiltskin Part 3

**Chapter 5: **Rumplestiltskin Part 3

* * *

It happened instantaneously.

Kassim burst into action by leaping off the carpet before it touched the floor. He whipped out a dagger from his belt and clashed it against Jamil's hastily drawn sword. Goltas seized after Kassim—Alibaba stiffened in apprehension—but Kassim proved to be too quick, too agile, too adroit to allow himself be caught. Alibaba watched in astonishment as the dreadlocked man exchanged blows with blades and evaded a death sentence promised by the guard's superior strength.

Alibaba jolted in surprise when he felt Alamir rip away from his arms, and turned around to see him charging into the direction of Maimoonah who was slinking back into the shadows. The blonde felt a fleeting sense of bewilderment—wasn't Alamir so afraid of the magician that he recoiled from the sight of him?—before he shook his head and chased after the younger boy.

"Al, wait! Alamir!"

Alamir, however, did not heed to the orders that were yelled at him. Instead, he latched his tiny fists onto the billowy fabric of Maimoonah's robe before the magician could entirely submerge himself into the darkness. The child yanked and actually managed to _pull_ the old man out of the depths.

"Give me back Ugo!" Alamir cried desperately.

To Alibaba's horror, Maimoonah curled his knobby fingers around the boy's neck and snapped them shut in a trap-like grip. Alamir mutely gasped and his hands flew up to the hand.

"Insolent boy!" Maimoonah rasped.

"Al!" Alibaba lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Alamir's torso. He then threw his foot up and thrust it against the magician, propelling him and Alamir to tumble backwards. The old man gave an angry squawk before retreating back and finally disappearing.

Alamir scrambled out of Alibaba's hold, pausing at his hands and knees, and stared mournfully where Maimoonah last stood. "Ugo…"

Alibaba propped himself onto his elbows, letting a moment of hysteric confusion pass over him. Just what was going on here…?

His attention was, once again, diverted, when he heard a shout of "Carpet!" Kassim, who was still keeping up his dance between his two opponents, barked out, "To Alibaba!"

The carpet that had been lying flat a couple feet away from Kassim's fight began to float upwards and zoom towards in Alibaba's direction. It took a few seconds for him to register that he was seeing a rescue mission in process, which Alibaba seized this golden opportunity with fervor. He forced his weary self onto his feet and hoisted Alamir from the ground, announcing, "Our ride is here."

"What—oof!" The blonde unceremoniously dumped the boy onto the carpet and threw himself a seat before it could swerve into a sharp turn while increasing its levels higher into the air. With the carpet tilting into an upward slant, Alibaba held on tightly to the edges of the carpet as Alamir clung onto him.

The carpet's speed marginally slowed as it coasted above the three men's heads. Kassim deflected the swooping arc of Jamil's sword, but the force knocked the dagger out of his grip. Without even halting in each step of his movements, Kassim narrowly skipped to the side before Golta could take a swipe at him. Kassim's eyes flickered up and met with Alibaba's. A slight nod was given, Kassim then hopped onto Golta's arm before the burly warrior raised it and climbed onto those wide shoulders.

He leapt.

"Kassim!" Alibaba caught the length of his arm. "Gotcha!"

"Carpet, outside," Kassim commanded.

The carpet instantly shot upwards—Alibaba and Alamir both made startled noises at this—and made its way out through the same window it had entered by with Kassim still hanging off to the side. The change of air brushed against their skin as the sun glared down at them. With great effort, Alibaba heaved Kassim aboard and shared heaving breaths with the man who collapsed on top of him.

"Things certainly escalated quickly," Kassim said, rolling over.

"I'd say," Alibaba muttered. "You sure picked a fine time to show up, you prick."

"Well, at least I made it. You can show a bit of appreciation to your rescuer, Princess."

Alibaba was sorely tempted to give a returning jibe. He had been meaning to ask about Kassim's new development in fashion since their recent reunion—because, really, he was wearing bearskin; what happened to the heavy jewelry that he had dangling around his neck?—but held his tongue.

This was not the time to allow his temper be colored by annoyance nor was it for trivialities. The circumstances were currently too dire for that, so he couldn't afford to lose his rationality.

"What held you up?" he asked instead.

"Guards who caught Yunan and me snooping in places that were prohibited to anyone who wasn't the master of the town. They called over their friends after the initial scuffle, and I had to make a hasty retreat while Yunan went into hiding. I'm sure that they were none too happy about letting us get away since we discovered something very interesting."

"Is that where we're headed?"

"Yeah. The guards had a Fanalis with them, though, so we're going to have to tread carefully."

Alibaba's eyes snapped at Kassim. "A Fanalis?"

He nodded. "Red hair, distinctive eyes, and monstrous power. She's young, though—probably a few years younger than us. And by the state of her clothes and the manacles on her ankles, I'd say she's a slave."

"Are you talking about Morgiana?"

Alibaba and Kassim looked at Alamir, the one who spoke. "You know her, Al?" Alibaba asked.

"I always see her around the master and she's the only girl I know who can carry a large barrel of wine in each arm with ease."

Sounded like a Fanalis.

"So, who's the kid?" Kassim quirked an eyebrow.

Oh, right. "This is Alamir. He's—well, he's a former servant of Master Jamil, I guess. But Al's been forced to work for that man and had his magic sealed."

"A magic-wielder?" Kassim sat up and appraised Alamir, curiosity glinting in his eyes. "Where are your parents?"

"Kassim," Alibaba hissed in chastisement.

"I don't have parents," Alamir answered without hesitation. His face became somber as despondency made itself clear in his gaze. "It was just me and Ugo…"

Ugo—there was that name again. Alamir had told him that Ugo was a friend of his, someone who he had not seen since his service to Jamil. From what Alibaba could gather, Maimoonah had done something to Ugo that apparently distraught Alamir more than the magician stripping him of his name and sealing away his magic. This Ugo-person was perhaps alive, but what exactly was his condition?

"Yunan told me about him. He's the magic kid who spun straw for you in Yunan's place, right?" Magic kid? Alibaba wryly repeated the moniker mentally before nodding. Kassim continued, "He mentioned about sensing suppressed magic in—what's his name?—Alamir. Do you know the magician who did this to him? And how many magicians does the master have siding with him?"

"I just saw one," Alibaba said. "You probably saw him too. That old man wearing the heavy robes."

"That thing was a _person_?"

He had forgotten about how splendidly boorish Kassim could be, and he couldn't tell if his former childhood companion was worsening or not. Then Alibaba was struck with irony because the same boorishness was once part of his personality until nobility courtesy that was beaten into him had erased that trait. He probably behaved like a snob when he and Kassim had met before King Rashid died. Funny how he was thinking about it now.

And, admittedly, Alibaba did initially perceive Maimoonah as a ghoul than a man. He even dubbed the magician as an "it" briefly.

"Apparently. Also, he was the one who caused Al's magical shortage."

"Okay, so you discovered one magician. How about the Magi?" Kassim urged.

Alibaba's pressed together tightly. He answered, "Um, no."

"No?"

"I was basically imprisoned. I wasn't permitted to venture outside." He wiped the sheen of perspiration from his forehead. "Didn't Yunan…?"

"He got a vague idea of just how your accommodations were going to be like, but we _hoped_ that you could still find the Magi."

"Yeah…"

In the silence that followed, Alamir then cut in uncertainly, "Cinderella, didn't you tell Master Jamil that I'm a Magi?"

Kassim snorted at that. "You're no Magi, kid—I can guarantee that."

"How?" the child asked, puzzled.

"Because there is no way that a Magi would have his abilities limited by a magician. Magi are, by default, stronger than all magic-wielders. Chances are that you possess promising talent, but you don't have what it takes to be a Magi." He shrugged. "Sorry, kid."

Honestly, what did being a Magi entail? Yunan had been dismissive in his explanations earlier and assured Alibaba that he would learn more of these magic-wielders who could "utilize magic far better than any other magician." Alibaba didn't particularly care about Magi, yet, with the reverent description that Kassim offered readily, he had to wonder.

"I told Jamil that you were a Magi so that he wouldn't hurt you," Alibaba said apologetically to Alamir. "I was scared that he would."

"Oh."

"Although, Maimoonah did seem like a strong magician and you are quite young…"

"Not a chance," Kassim rebuffed. "Trust me on this, Alibaba. I've got three years of experience to your three days."

"Right, because your worldly-wise viewpoint can be trusted," the blonde said sardonically, and he inwardly cursed himself for falling into the unnecessary ribbing. The situation at hand wasn't so dire anymore now that there was a solid idea of what they had to do, but to ridicule Kassim—

"Like your worldly-wise viewpoint on scrubbing floors and washing dishes?" the other remarked. He donned a face of indifference even though he might as well be smirking. The condescension was heavy, regardless. "You must tell me, Princess, on how you managed to get relegated from royalty to a maid."

To ridicule Kassim was asking to be ridiculed back, and Alibaba was no good at keeping his emotions in check at times. "Would you quit calling me Princess—!"

"I don't care," Alamir curtailed sharply, and the words that were ready to jump from the two older boys' tongues died.

"Al…?"

"I don't care if I'm no one special, that I'm not this Magi that you guys are looking for. I'm guessing that was why you were at the castle, Cinderella, and I'm sorry that you didn't. But this just adds clarity to the issue here: You still have to help me."

Alibaba withdrew, stunned.

"Normally, I don't like making people owe me anything, but I don't have any available options open to me. You gave me 'worthless trash'—" Alamir winced from quoting Jamil's crude statement "—when I helped you spin the straw, and now you've brought me along with you. I can't complete my service to the master anymore."

"It wasn't like he was going to free you in the end, Al. He was using you; he wasn't going to let you go," Alibaba countered with a frown.

"But you don't know that for sure. And, now, I can never know either because he undoubtedly won't release me if I return to him when he's under the impression that I'm a Magi."

Alamir looked so different from the jovial ten-year-old boy who desired friendly company and enjoyed nonsensical conversations. It was like meeting a stranger. In that child's place was a determined and solemn young man who got nothing to lose other than his precious friend.

"I need your help in rescuing Ugo and regaining my magic."

And Alibaba…could not sympathize with the boy. He could face sideways and stare at Kassim, but he wouldn't see someone who he was willing to sacrifice everything for; perhaps in the past when they had been friends, but these times had considerably changed. All he had going for was his own life and this destiny that was supposed to make everything better. He loved Balbadd, his homeland, albeit he wasn't certain if he would _die_ for it.

He could—and would—dedicate his life in bringing the country back to its former glory, but sacrifice was another thing entirely.

Alibaba hadn't felt what the boy felt, but he could understand. A tightly-knotted bond to be severed by loss would ruin any person, and any person would go at lengths to make sure that bond was secure. Those were the fundamentals of humanity, after all.

"Alright, alright," Alibaba sighed. "It is the least that I can do for you."

"Seriously, Alibaba?"

"What? I owe him," he said defensively, glaring at the older boy.

"You're promising to risk your life for this brat's friend all because he spun straw for you," Kassim deadpanned.

"Look, it's more complicated than that."

"More like he successfully guilt-tripped you."

Alibaba bristled. "Kassim, this is a decision that I have made myself. I made the choice of bringing Alamir along and I made the choice of helping him out; I intend to see through my promise. What that has got to do with you hardly matters."

"On the contrary, it does matter. If you're involved, then Yunan is involved; if Yunan is involved, then I'm strung along for the ride."

"You never did explain to me what your connection is to him," Alibaba probed, eyes narrowed.

"And so I haven't," he agreed with a drawl.

Getting the hint that he wasn't going to hear an explanation, Alibaba huffed and turned away. "Anyways," he muttered, "do you know where Ugo is, Al?"

"Oh, um!" Alamir straightened up, jarring when the attention was directed back to him. "I know that my name is locked inside my flute, which M-Maimoonah has."

"And Ugo?"

"Ugo is inside my flute."

Alibaba opened his mouth, and then closed it.

"Magic defies laws of logic," Kassim said.

"Yeah, I've noticed, Kassim. Thank you very much," Alibaba snapped through gritted teeth.

So much for keeping his cool.

"What did he mean by having his name locked inside his flute, by the way?"

* * *

A minute later of soaring across the sky, they already reached a corner of the town that Alibaba hadn't explored before. It was uncharted area to the blonde because he would have had remembered seeing an embellished palace that topped Jamil's fancy castle. It was situated in the town looking horribly out of place with its ivory walls and golden accents and heavily armed stiff-backed soldiers.

"The owner has elaborate tastes. Does the master's mother reside here?" Alibaba wondered.

"Not quite. You know how I said that we went somewhere prohibited?" Kassim said lightly. "That entrance over there with the many guards was the prohibited part, actually."

"What? They post guards just to protect one door?"

"To prevent anyone from entering, genius."

"I know that! I mean—why that door specifically? Unless there weren't any other openings to break in…"

"There aren't, so they watch the entrance."

"I'm going to assume that there weren't this many guards in standby," he said, shooting a dry look at the elder. "I'm also going to assume that there were guards there anyway. How did you and Yunan manage to bypass them and reach the entrance?"

"Since Yunan was awfully curious and, for some reason, couldn't conjure magic to discretely make it there himself, I was the one to create a diversion while he gone to investigate."

"Huh." Alibaba peered over the frayed edges of the carpet once more. "Is Yunan inside the palace?"

"Yeah. I don't see that Fanalis girl anywhere. Must've taken off after Yunan."

"So, how are we going to get inside?"

"Well—"

"What are we doing?" Alamir tugged on Alibaba's sleeve. "I thought we were going to rescue Ugo!"

"We are! Uh, we _will_. But we need to get to Yunan first. You remember him, right?"

Fingers still snagged onto the sleeve, Alamir's worried expression pinched into thoughtful remembrance. "Your uncle? The man with the long hair? He's a magician too." He then brightened. "If we retrieve your uncle, then he can help save Ugo?"

"That's the plan." Partially. "He's a Magi, so there's a guarantee that saving Ugo would work." Possibly.

"Your uncle is a Magi?" Alamir radiated awe and hopefulness. "Do—do you think he can defeat Maimoonah?"

"I believe so… I haven't known him for very long." The blonde's eyes flickered at Kassim. "But according to Kassim, Yunan should be able to do so."

Kassim made an impatient sound. "If you ladies are done chatting…"

Alamir's brows furrowed. "I'm a boy."

Kassim shot Alibaba a "is this kid serious?" look.

Alibaba coughed into his fist. "Erm. The plan, Kassim?"

"No plan. We dive."

"What?"

Without preamble, the carpet skewed _downwards_ and gravity played its part in dragging everyone to its hurtling descent. The only noises that filled Alibaba's ears were the swooshing of the sliced air and the shrieking that his and Alamir's voices combined produced.

The entrance of the palace was coming closer and closer fast and—and there wasn't a door but a swirling vortex.

"Kassim, you bastard—!"

And then everything went dark.

* * *

"Cinderella! Cinderella, wake up!"

Alibaba groaned and groggily opened his eyes. Where was he…?

"Cinderella!" A face swam into his field of vision, and it took him a moment to recognize that it was Alamir. The child's features melted into that of relief. "You're awake! I'm so glad."

"Al?" Alibaba sat up and paused when his head was lightly spinning. "What happened?"

"I think we entered that palace through a portal. After that, I woke up finding us here."

"Here" happened to be a cave. There was soft glow of light within the rocky tunnel. He haphazardly surveyed the area and saw shallow waters nearby. Not only that, but what he was sitting on was an engraved symbol. He scooted away and gasped when the symbol was the same eight-pointed star mark that had been on Prince Kouen's sword. He traced the grooves with his fingers and wondered what this meant.

A Kou prince with a sword that possessed magical properties. This symbol. A portal that took him to an entirely different destination.

And…he remembered travelling through a pillar of white…

Alibaba paled when it dawned on him.

"No way."

"Cinderella?"

He read a few scrolls about the astounding feats of Sinbad, the King of the Seven Seas, the years he acted as the third Balbaddian prince. They were tales that inspired him fantasies of pursuing his own adventures and discovering treasures that could turn a destitute begger into a king. Afterwards, as he matured, Alibaba didn't have the same enthralled conviction that the stories were true. But now…

"We're in a Dungeon!"

He didn't know why he didn't see it before that night in the Crown Prince's room when the glowing symbol should had been an obvious indicator. Maybe it just had been a long time since he could collect his memories of King Sinbad's stories, but, holy cow, Prince Kouen conquered a Dungeon and they were inside a Dungeon!

Alamir shuffled a few steps backwards when Alibaba hurriedly pushed himself on his feet. "Careful there."

"We're in a Dungeon, Al," Alibaba whispered. He was feeling an amalgamation of emotions—wonder, terror, incredulity, excitement. That all then collapsed into one—anger. He spun around, eyes roving with new acuteness. "He knew! Kassim, that bastard!"

"Cinderella?"

"Where is he, Al? Where is he? I'm going to strangle that son of a—"

"Now I know for sure that the two of you aren't friends," Alamir sighed. "Kassim isn't here. He wasn't when I woke up. Do you think that he left us?"

"I don't think he would," Alibaba said, digging his fingers into his hair in frustration. "Then again, I don't quite know him as well as I used to."

"Maybe he landed somewhere else. Let's go look for him." Alamir took his other hand with both of his and led him towards the end of the cave. Alibaba wanted to protest, but, then again, how else was he going to strangle Kassim if he wasn't here?

The light grew much brighter after striding down the tunnel. Alibaba squinted at the white blindness, reflexively bringing a hand over his eyes. A few seconds later of adjusting, he brought his hand down and his jaw dropped.

It was an enormous cavern with several passages dotting its interior sides with stairways connecting them. Above, a scintillating sun flared as the cavern's only source of illumination. It was eternal daylight within this enclosure, Alibaba knew for certainty, and finding either Kassim or Yunan would be their challenge here.

"We really are in a Dungeon," the blonde said numbly.

"You're going to have to explain to me what a Dungeon is, Cinderella. Or is it Alibaba? Kassim called you that, but I wasn't sure if it's your real name or not."

"Alibaba is my real name. Sorry, Al. I couldn't exactly give out my identity when I was going undercover."

The younger boy nodded. "I understand. You pretending to be a girl was also an undercover thing too, right?"

"What? You can tell I'm not a girl?" Alibaba asked, surprised. He didn't dare give in to the hope of someone finally being able to see that there was no way he looked like a girl, but a twinge of delight warmed him. The good feeling right away vanished when Alamir made his response.

"When we were flying out of the castle, I was holding onto you and…" Alamir made an evocative cupping gesture at his chest and _enough was said_. "You didn't…"

"Is that how you differentiate between men and women?" he exclaimed bewilderedly.

He scratched his head underneath his turban. "You're pretty like a lady, but you don't have…" Again with the obscene gesture.

Disgruntled, Alibaba swatted his hands down. "Al, cut it out."

"But it's true," Al said, pouting in confusion. "All ladies have boobies. I know because whenever I bury my face into a man's chest it's just flat and hard. Ladies' chests are squishy and soft and nice to rub my cheeks against."

It was as if the air had been cut out from him. Alibaba managed to choke out, "You…and…boobies…?"

Alamir, however, continued on, oblivious to the other's seething. "Although, I met a man with boobies that were like lady boobies, which was really weird. He was angry that I grabbed him."

Alibaba was not going to be jealous of the little twerp, but damn it all! He was seventeen and had not once touched a maiden's chest, and yet this kid here proclaimed that he had been plunging his face into several breasts despite being ten! As if the comment about his pretty self hadn't been damaging enough, it was a bucket-load of salt being poured onto his festering wounds having to hear that Alamir had more experience that he did.

Alibaba hung his head in despair.

"Cinder—I mean, Alibaba, are you alright?" Alamir queried in concern.

"All but my pride, Al," Alibaba sighed glumly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know why your pride isn't alright, but maybe if we busy ourselves in finding Kassim and your uncle then you could distract yourself."

"I suppose you're right. Let's get to it, then."

The two stepped forward, beginning their search.

And what a long search it was.


	6. Rumplestiltskin Part 4

**AN: **This is manga-compliant, but, since this is an AU, the story will more or less be divergent from the original story. Like, for example, what happens in the Dungeons in canon won't entirely appear in this fic (because I don't want to rewrite what happens in the manga for every scene).

* * *

**Chapter 6: **Rumplestiltskin Part 4

* * *

"I'm starting to think that this is all futile," Alibaba muttered. He rolled over to his side and watched Alamir finish his list of crosses, circles, and other shapes in the dirt with a twig. These figures were found marked next to the openings of the passages that they ventured in, and these passages led them straight back to the cavern. This place was one enormous maze, and Alibaba had no clue how to get out of it.

Alamir was humming to himself contemplatively. He didn't appear to be all too worried about the labyrinth that they were stuck in, but, of course, he maintained an air of seriousness. His prime intent was to rescue Ugo, after all, so the mood couldn't be struck as idle or light-hearted.

There was a niggling feeling of dread that Alibaba couldn't express to Alamir. They had been wandering around in circles for what must have had been three hours and there was still no sign of either Kassim or Yunan. For all he knew, they could keep this up forever, find no exit, and wither away before even reaching the legendary treasures that were beyond man's imagination. The part about not getting treasure was an insignificant disappointment; the part about dying was a genuine fear.

He did tell Alamir stories about how thousands of Dungeon-diving hopefuls had entered Dungeons and had yet to return. For decades of such attempts and only a scarce few had accomplished the feat of conquering. From the vaguest part of his memory, Alibaba could remember reading that it was why Dungeons were referred to as "Pits of Death" and "Stairways to Hell."

Alamir, in his steadfast belief that everything would turn out well in the end, insisted that after they recuperated and thought of a plan, they would be able to escape the cavern and its meandering tunnels. Alibaba just gave the child a weak smile.

"There are so many of these shapes. Do you think that they could mean something?" Alamir mused. "Maybe the O's stand for the correct pathways."

"I don't think it could be that simple," Alibaba replied dryly.

It really couldn't be that simple. This Dungeon had been erected perhaps years ago, and that meant that several had tried their luck in triumphing over the challenges that it had to offer. Challenges that Alibaba was in no way prepared for, and yet Kassim just had to thrust them into this mess.

He sat up and wearily glanced at the cogitation that scrunched Alamir's face. Was he trying to determine if there was a pattern that they had to follow? If that was the case, then this was more complicated than Alibaba thought it would be.

He hated convoluted puzzles. Maybe he lacked the genius to enjoy mentally-stimulating games, but he liked to consider himself a straightforward person. Reason being why he hated riddles and poetry so much when he was younger.

His eyes drifted back to the drawings. Alamir was quite the artist given how he was able to copy the shapes precisely like the marks on the entrances. He watched as Alamir did another circle, but he didn't move the twig with a steadiness and a focused eye. He idly dug his writing implement into the dirt and did a loop with a flick of the wrist, and then scratched out another triangle among his other triangles.

Alamir wasn't trying to be concise of his drawings at all.

Alibaba's eyes widened. It wasn't a puzzle that the Dungeon wanted them to decipher; these were man-made markings. The marks were created from previous Dungeon-divers—that was in likelihood. But for what purpose did they had in mind when they drew these shapes? Unless…

He rose up onto his feet, realization settling in. It really could be that simple.

"Alamir, go look for a passage that doesn't have a mark," Alibaba said, running towards the entrances that they had yet to enter.

"You figured something out?"

"Yeah. I'll explain later!"

Half an hour later, they were standing before an entrance that Alamir had found. Next to the opening was a blank wall.

"Okay," Alibaba said, slapping a hand onto the smooth surface, "this one is likely the correct path."

"What?" Alamir looked at him in surprise. "But it doesn't have a mark! How can you tell that it's the right one?"

"My theory is that these marks are made by those who came before us. And, like you and me, they had struggled in figuring out which path is the right one. If they enter a path that led them nowhere, they would mark it up so that they'd know not to enter it again by mistake."

"And they would keep marking the entrances until they find the right one!" Alamir gasped.

"Process of elimination. Although, they could have found the right path halfway through their search, so there could be plenty other unmarked entrances."

"Then, if this is another wrong path, we can mark it and head over to another unmarked entrance."

"Yup." Alibaba grinned. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

In they went, and out they attempted when they were being chased by terrifying oversized ant-like creatures.

Were monsters ever mentioned in the scrolls that he had read? That…Alibaba couldn't quite recall. But monsters were here, and monsters they were running away from.

Alibaba and Alamir had been striding down the passage, taking in their surroundings with quiet appreciative eyes. Stalactites hung above their heads, casting soft shadows by the bluish-white luminance. Brightly shimmering flowers had sprouted along the walls and corners while the moss here glittered like it had flecks of gems in them. More than once did they stop and examine the small beauty before them.

And then they had located the eggs. More importantly, they had trespassed into the creatures' nest.

With all the energy and strength that he could muster, Alibaba sped down the passage, his hand gripping tightly onto Alamir's. The deluge of beasts angrily cried out after them, noises so grating and screeching. Alibaba did not once look over his shoulder, but he didn't have to—he knew that they were gaining up on him and Alamir.

They had no weapons and they were already worn out from figuring out the maze. What were they going to do now?

"Al-Alibaba, I know a way out," Alamir panted.

"As long as it doesn't require us stopping, then go ahead."

"Um, you're going to have to trust me on this."

"Wait, we really need to stop running?" Alibaba said incredulously.

"Just—just for a moment."

It wasn't like Alibaba himself knew what else to do. Pushing away his disinclination, he skidded to a halt and released his hold on Alamir's hand. Alamir promptly tugged off his turban and unraveled it, casting a thin blanket onto the ground. His open palms hovered above the cloth as his brows furrowed in concentration.

Alibaba's eyes flitted back and forth between Alamir's task and the growing cloud of dust that was kicked up by the creatures that were drawing in close. He nervously chewed on his bottom lip. "Any time now, Al."

"Sorry. It's just—it's just harder when I don't have all of my magic," Alamir murmured.

A few seconds later, a second before Alibaba decided that he would start sprinting again even if he had to tow Alamir by his braid, the cloth levitated. Al grinned widely and bounced on top, exclaiming, "Hop on!"

It wasn't as fast as Kassim's carpet, but it was fast enough to lift off high into the air and avoid the snapping mandibles of the creatures. Relief poured into his body like an overfilled glass, and Alibaba let out a shaky chuckle. Alamir sagged tiredly and leaned heavily against Alibaba's side.

"Good job, Al," Alibaba said, patting the child's back.

"Took a lot outta me," Alamir sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Normally, doing this wouldn't be so difficult…"

"Well, I don't think those things can get us from up here." Peering down, he could see the ants congregating under the drifting cloth's shadow, clambering on top of one another as though trying to form a pile to reach them. "I think we're safe."

That was until the creatures began to _melt_ into each other. To the boys' horrification, the ants that had melded together altered fully into one grotesque sentient blob. It was reacting to their presence, lurching upwards and trailing after them in the similar slow pace that their ride was going. Feelers and appendages that were sticking out smoothed around the being's body as it convulsed violently. It then started to take shape.

It wouldn't take long for it to complete its transformation. They had to get out of here before it did.

"Alamir, take us away from here now!" Alibaba shouted.

An arm shot out of the blob with its human-like hand outstretched for them, but Alamir heeded his warning before it could take them. With a burst of speed, they shot forward and managed to dart away from the monster's grasp.

"Yeah!" they cheered.

The blob pulsated again, and, this time, legs sprouted out. The legs pushed the body up and took a wobbly step…then another and another…until it was running after them.

"No!" they cried.

It was undeniable now—they wouldn't be able to escape. It was upon them within a few heartbeats, its shadow looming over them.

"Yunan, wherever you are, now would be a good time to show up!" Alibaba whispered, bringing Alamir to his chest.

The monster's hand was inches away from grabbing them until, suddenly, there was a sound of explosion. The monster roared and recoiled. Before Alibaba could see what was happening, the flying cloth quickly sailed downwards and then collapsed under the weight of both of its occupants. Alibaba and Alamir crashed hard onto the ground, the two groaning in pain.

"What's going on?" Alamir asked, eyes widening.

"I don't—" Shooting over their heads was a comet of white light that hit the monster and seared its skin. Alibaba looked over to the source of the attack, and then exclaimed in relief, "Yunan! Good timing!"

"Kind of funny how I had to save you the moment when I find you," Yunan said, smiling.

The creature shook off the strike and made a lunge forward. A whorl of radiance coalesced into a ball within seconds at the tip of Yunan's staff before he motioned his arm in a forward jerk and fired another hit. The attack upon impact created an explosion, and the creature wailed in agony. Its arms hit the ceiling and caused debris to rain.

Attack after attack, the creature finally decided that they weren't worth the trouble. It gave one last roar and then slinked away into the dark void of the corridor. Alibaba gave a long sigh of relief.

The man patted away the dust that clung onto his clothes and turned around to face his charge. "Well, then," Yunan chirped, placing his hands on his hips, "is there something that you would like to tell me?"

Alibaba was confused. "What?"

"Oh, come on! You know! When your godfather just saved your life, there are two words that you say to convey your appreciation." He paused. "Or seven."

"Thank you," the younger man deadpanned.

"You sure don't sound like it," Yunan lamented.

"Don't get me wrong, Yunan. I'm grateful that you came and beat that monster, but what I would be even more grateful if you left specific directions as to what I would be doing after the first stage of subterfuge. Maybe, that way, I wouldn't have to waste time trying to find the right path out of all the other paths or getting chased by freakish-looking creatures!" Alibaba snapped, rising on his feet.

"You do look ruffled," the older man acquiesced, observing him from head to toe. "But I didn't think that this would have been such a complication for you."

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"From what Kassim had told me, in your childhood, you were cunning and clever. Always had a mind full of creative ideas to get out of a dilemma. Not to mention that you were determined. Of course, he did take it into consideration that you'd be no longer able to exercise that when taken into the palace to be educated as royalty."

His mouth parted in surprise. "Kassim said that?"

"Who else?"

"Well, ever since he came through the palace to save us, he hasn't said a single nice thing to me."

"Oh, I'm sure that it wasn't like that, Alibaba—"

Alamir collapsed with a thud.

"Ah! Alamir!" Alibaba knelt down and held the boy up in his arms.

Yunan leaned over and scanned Alamir's face. No, rather, he was surveying what was around Alamir. Was he looking at his rukh?

"What's wrong with him? Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Yunan reassured. "He's just exhausted from overusing his abilities."

He was right. Alibaba glanced down and saw lines of weariness etched onto Alamir's young face. Guilt clawed at his stomach. Did he overwork the kid? He might have not directly told Alamir what to do, but he could have—should have—made sure that he was doing alright. He despairingly dragged a hand through his hair.

Yunan handed something over to him. "Here is your satchel."

"Thanks," Alibaba muttered, accepting the brown bag. He slung the strap around his shoulder. He then threw Alamir over his back and slowly stood up, holding the boy upright.

"Alibaba, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why did you bring that boy with you? He's from the castle, isn't he?"

"He is. I, uh, made a promise to him that I would help him save his friend."

Yunan tilted his head to the side. "Making promises casually will lead you to trouble, Alibaba," he warned lightly.

"It's not like I do it all the time! It's just—Alamir helped me in many occasions, and it wasn't just spinning straw into gold. He saved my life, and I should repay him back in kind." He did prevent Goltas from beheading him, after all.

Now that he thought about it, both magicians had rescued him at very convenient times. Should he just throw himself in danger whenever he needed to find either of them from now on?

Alibaba shook his head from the thought. Third time was the charm—but with _his_ luck, third time was his inevitable downfall. He really shouldn't think of such things. It would only serve to jinx him later in life.

"Well, if you insist." Yunan stared thoughtfully at Alamir. The expression on his face seemed as though he was quite puzzled by the boy. Alibaba looked at Alamir's slumbering face from the corner of his eye before returning his attention back to the man in green.

"What is it?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing." Yunan pursed his lips before shrugging. "Let's go find Kassim, shall we?"

* * *

With Yunan in the lead, finding Kassim didn't take as long as Alibaba had expected. Neither did he expect to run into Jamil, Goltas, and a redheaded girl with _incredible strength_.

The girl—Morgiana, as Jamil had called her—lunged towards Kassim. She drew her fist back and drove it forward. Kassim leapt out of the way in time—barely—and was nicked by the flying rocks created by the massive crater that exploded from the girl's punch. Blood trailed down his face from the cut that ran across his cheek. Alibaba, who saw the events unfold from behind, stared in shock before picking his jaw up.

He inched away slowly.

"Hey, could use a little help here!" Kassim grunted, flipping in midair to evade a kick.

"Right! Help is on the way!" Yunan raised his staff above his head and—and then it was knocked out of his hands by Goltas's blade.

Alibaba and Yunan watched as the staff flew a few yards back and clatter onto the ground. They turned back forward with Goltas looming over them.

"I believe that this is your time to shine, Alibaba," Yunan declared cheerfully, grabbing his wrist and pushing something into his hand. Then, without a warning, the bastard shoved him right into Goltas.

"Oh shi—!" Alibaba instinctively drew his arms upwards and found himself wielding a short sword that clashed against the scabbard. He gasped and skidded backwards before the large man could throw him off. Years of swordsmanship lessons took over: his left arm swung behind his back, his stance steady and ready, the weight shifted to his toes, his fingers curled firmly on the grip.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Yunan, who was now carrying Alamir, going after his staff. Alibaba gritted his teeth in annoyance. He could lash out at the man later. Right now, he needed to focus on his opponent.

Already familiar with Goltas's movements, Alibaba, more or less, knew how to deal with the hulking guard. The problem was that he was exhausted. His feet ached, he was short of breath, and he had a headache. From dehydration, probably. Needless to say, this fight was extremely one-sided.

Redirecting Goltas's attack with the short sword's blade, Alibaba glanced at Kassim from the corner of his eye. Yunan erected a glowing barrier to ward off Morgiana's flying kick. He didn't see Jamil anywhere. Was he hiding in one of the buildings?

The part of the Dungeon that they were in was like an abandoned city. Flat-topped structures were spread across the interior of the enormous prism-shaped space. In the center was a magnificent tower that stood from the ground to the ceiling.

When they had been walking through, there had been several statues standing outside of the pathways. Chipped pottery and plates had been left as though undisturbed for decades. Alibaba had wondered if people had actually resided here.

Making their way towards the center, that had been when they ran into trouble.

Alibaba kept up with Goltas for a couple minutes, but his movements were slowing down drastically. He was now throwing himself out of harm's way instead of dodging it gracefully.

Goltas dragged his weapon downwards and curved the swing just when Alibaba rolled away. He squawked and tried to scramble away, but it was too late. The scabbard slashed at his back, and Alibaba shrieked in pain. Something hard struck across his face, and specks of black dotted his vision.

"Alibaba!" he heard Yunan call out.

"Goltas, go after those two men and retrieve the boy. I'll deal with the girl," ordered a familiar voice. Alibaba cracked open one eye to see Jamil looming over him.

The master looked…worse for wear. Gone was the lofty smile and pristine condition, he was now beleaguered. His face was beaded in sweat, his clothes bore tears and smudges, and he was staring down at him with a dark and angry expression. In his hand was a thin sword.

"You," Jamil said in a ragged voice. "This is all your fault! Yours and his!"

Alibaba propped his arms up and struggled to get up. Jamil took immediate notice of this and kicked him down again. The man kept his foot on his head and pressed down.

"Those monsters—what I do to deserve such hell? I didn't do anything, and yet I nearly died ten times," Jamil muttered hysterically.

Monsters? Did he mean the Dungeon creatures? Wait, was this guy seriously blaming him for that?

What the heck! That didn't even make sense!

To think that Alibaba was afraid of him before. Seeing the man being reduced to a whining hot mess took care of that. Alibaba didn't even feel scared for his life when Jamil held his sword over his head and was about to stab him with it.

(He was pretty battered. He was completely depleted of adrenaline and was ready to take a five-hour long nap. Or maybe he was in shock that, after surviving several encounters of near-death experiences, he was going to die right here and now.)

"Get away from my goddaughter!"

There was a loud blast and Alibaba was conscious enough to see Jamil flying backwards. There were plumes of smoke that soon disappeared. Yunan was quick to come to his side and kneel down. He gently pressed his hands onto the long wound. Alibaba winced, but was soon relieved of the searing pain, only left with a bruising ache.

"I can't fix the scarring. I hope that's alright with you," Yunan said.

"It's fine." Alibaba grunted as he pushed himself up. "Where's Alamir? And Goltas?"

"The boy is safe, and I already took care of the masked man. You stay down; Kassim and I will finish this."

"But Yunan—"

"_Stay down._ It's bad enough that you got injured as badly as you did." Alibaba never thought that he would see the normally jovial man appear so distraught. The sight was a bit alarming. Perhaps Yunan really didn't think that he could gain more than just scrapes and bruises. But what was Yunan placing his faith in when he kept sticking Alibaba in these situations? Some sort of magical luck that came with his supposedly big-time destiny?

After casting Alibaba a stern look that conveyed a strange parental vibe (so, so strange), Yunan ran off into the direction of where Jamil was. The young man surveyed the area. He couldn't see Alamir anywhere, but he trusted Yunan when he said that the kid was fine. There were thundering crashes and rising dust at a distance, presumably where Kassim and the redheaded girl were taking their fight at.

Before Alibaba could lower his guard and relax, he saw Kassim leaping onto a rooftop. Morgiana soon followed. In the moment of when she was suspended in air from her jump, Morgiana then whirled and propelled her heel into Kassim's stomach. Kassim shot out over a few rooftops before crashing into the ground.

"Kassim!" Alibaba got up onto his feet and ran.

"Don't come any closer, Alibaba!" Kassim yelled through ragged and heavy breaths.

Alibaba was ready to ignore Kassim when Morgiana suddenly landed in front of him. She was hardly an imposing figure up close. She was head shorter than him with a seemingly frail body hiding under the threadbare dress that she wore. But Alibaba was beyond knowing not to judge a person based on appearances—he witnessed not too long ago the girl causing craters with her fists, after all.

Her sharp eyes peered up at him. His eyes flickered to the arm that she was drawing back and didn't think twice about dropping into a fetal curl. A strong gust of wind blew above him. Alibaba felt himself quake.

(The adrenaline was coming back again. This time, he was feeling properly scared.)

The second after Morgiana had her arm struck out, Alibaba rolled away and skirted behind her. Without having to check over her shoulder, she pivoted on her heel and kicked him directly in the stomach. He folded over as air rushed out of his system. It was probably a good thing that he hadn't gotten the chance to eat something earlier…

Alibaba was shoved backwards and fell on his back. On his bruise. As he writhed from the soreness, Kassim leaped over his body and once again fought with the girl. Alibaba gulped for air and attempted to regulate his breathing as he moved onto his side since both his front and back were tender. His stupidly long hair fanned around him; they were looking stringy from all the perspiration.

He was tired. Kassim was tired. He wasn't sure about Yunan, but Alibaba was betting that the man in green was getting tired too. And, yet, Goltas was a muscle monster and Morgiana wasn't even breaking a sweat.

This was becoming a losing battle. It didn't matter if they triumphed in numbers—and likely they didn't since Alibaba was as useful as Jamil was—because their opponents were significantly better than them when it came to combat. Sure, Yunan was a Magi, but he didn't have a reservoir of energy that the Fanalis did.

For the last time for the day, Alibaba got onto his feet.

Kassim remembered him being cunning and clever. Alibaba probably was none of those things anymore, but damn it if he still wasn't determined.

Kassim kept Morgiana occupied—that was all Alibaba needed. He took off his satchel, held it open, and sprinted towards the girl. Before she could react to his presence, Alibaba covered the entirety of her head with the bag and shouted, "Get her, Kassim!"

But then ended up squatting as the satchel swallowed her whole.

Alibaba stared. Kassim stared. The satchel, remaining its original size, was still.

"What the hell," Kassim said.


End file.
